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TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 


' 


Two  Boys  in  the  Civil  War 
and  After 


W.  R.  HOUGHTON 
M.  B.  HOUGHTON 


Montgomery,  Ala.: 
THE  PARAGON  PRESS 

1912 


UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

JKIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


WE    DEDICATE    THIS    LITTLE    VOLUME 

TO  THE  MEMORY 

OF  THE 

CONFEDERATE  DEAD 

THOUSANDS   OF   WHOM    SLEEP    IN   UNMARKED  GRAVES 

AND  TO  THOSE  OF  THEIR  POSTERITY  WHO  ADMIRE 

AND  VENERATE  IN  THEIR  FOREFATHERS, 

HEROISM,  COURAGE,  BRAVERY,  SACRIFICE,  ENDURANCE, 

LOYALTY. 


<V 


W.  R.  HOUGHTON. 


W.  R.  Houghton  as  a  Confederate  Soldier 
and  After 


William  Robert  Houghton,  whose  thrilling  and  in- 
teresting narrations  of  his  service  and  sacrifices  in 
the  Great  Civil  War  of  1861  to  1865  are  published 
hereinafter,  was  an  intense  Confederate  and  believ- 
ed with  all  his  ardent  and  enthusiastic  nature  in  the 
righteousness  of  the  Southern  cause.  He  was  among 
the  last  of  the  immortal  thin  gray  line  to  yield  up 
his  long  cherished  hopes  of  the  final  triumph  of 
Confederate  arms  on  the  fateful  field  of  Appomatox. 

Buoyant  and  bright  of  disposition,  alert  in  mental 
and  physical  perception,  brave  and  gallant  in  action, 
he  was  the  ideal  soldier  with  no  selfish  ambition  for 
place  and  power,  but  was  consumed  with  an  earnest 
desire  to  achieve  the  independence  of  his  native 
South. 

To  him  duty  was  but  a  way  station  on  the  rugged 
highway  of  remorseless  war,  and  he  far  transcend- 
ed her  demands  in  his  enthusiasm  to  drive  the  North- 
ern invaders  from  the  soil  of  his  beloved  South. 

It  was  such  soldiers  as  William  R.  Houghton,  and 
their  name  was  legion  in  all  the  armies  of  the  South, 
that  caused  our  greatest  general  to  modestly  dis- 
claim credit  for  so  many  splendid  victories,  but 
freely  accorded  them  to  the  unrivaled  valor  and 
bravery  of  his  men  in  the  ranks. 

An  Athenian  statesman  is  said  to  have  boasted 
that  there  was  not  a  citizen  in  his  state  who  was  not 
capable  of  conducting  wisely  and  successfully  the 
destinies  of  Greece,  so,  in  the  ranks  of  the  Confeder- 


8  TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ates  there  were  many  who  would  have  led  their  com- 
rades with  equal  or  greater  success.  In  more  than 
one  important  engagement  of  the  great  Civil  War, 
it  has  been  freely  conceded  that  the  victory  over  the 
enemy  was  won  by  the  gallantry  and  invincible 
bravery,  of  the  Confederate  privates  in  the  face  of 
incompetent  and  unwise  leadership  on  the  part  of 
commanding  officers. 

The  opening  of  the  civil  war  found  W. 
R.  Houghton  eighteen  years  of  age,  engaged 
in  teaching  school  in  a  neighborhood  of  weal- 
thy and  aristocratic  planters  near  Smiths'  Station, 
Russell  county,  Alabama,  about  eight  miles  North  of 
Columbus,  Georgia.  This  neighborhood  together 
with  other  contiguous  parts  of  counties  have  subse- 
quently been  formed  into  the  county  of  Lee.  Col- 
umbus, Georgia,  at  that  time  was  a  prosperous  and 
influential  city  and  dominated  the  social  and  com- 
mercial interests  of  east  Alabama.  One  of  the  crack 
military  companies  of  the  city  was  the  Columbus 
Guards,  in  whose  ranks  were  found  the  young  men 
of  the  best  talent  and  blood  of  this  thriving  town.  It 
was  an  old  organization  with  high  standards,  the 
pride  of  West  Georgia  and  Eastern  Alabama. 

With  this  organization  W.  R.  Houghton  volun- 
teered for  one  year  and  at  the  termination  of  this 
period  for  the  war. 

How  well  he  acted  his  part  is  freely  attested  by  the 
love  and  admiration  of  his  surviving  comrades  and 
officers.  The  highest  officers  in  command  trusted 
him  implicitly  and  allowed  him  to  go  voluntarily  on 
many  delicate  and  dangerous  scouting  expeditions 
into  the  lines  of  the  enemy. 

The  narrative  of  his  personal  experiences  and  ob- 
servations, penned  by  himself,  will  interest  thous- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER  9 

ands  yet  unborn,  who  in  reading  the  history  of  this 
Titanic  struggle,  wish  to  catch  the  view  point  of  a 
private  soldier  of  quick  apprehension  and  remark- 
able memory. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  the  old 
neighborhood  where  he  had  formerly  taught,  almost 
a  physical  wreck.  Penniless,  and  threadbare  of 
clothing,  he  was  taken  in  hand  by  his  cousins,  the 
Misses  Whitten  who  were  veritable  angels  of  mer- 
cy and  sympathy  and  who  devotedly  nursed  him 
back  to  health  and  strength. 

He  again  resumed  his  school  under  the  changed 
conditions  among  his  former  patrons  or  such  of 
them  as  had  survived  the  struggle.  He  begun  read- 
ing law  during  his  school  term  and  after  its  clost; 
he  studied  under  his  father  at  Newton,  where  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar. 

He  located  in  Hayneville  where  he  practiced  many 
years  and  where  he  married  Annie  Streety  only 
daughter  of  John  P.  Streety  one  of  the  large  plant- 
ers and  merchants  of  that  town.  His  wife  died  a 
few  years  after  their  marriage  leaving  one  son, 
Harry  S.  Houghton  who  is  also  an  attorney  and  re- 
sides at  Morningview  near  Montgomery. 

He  removed  to  Birmingham  in  the  year  1886  and 
practiced  his  profession  in  partnership  with  Col 
Collier,  Colonel  Tallifero,  and  Captain  W.  C.  Ward 
with  whom  he  was  practicing  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

He  had  among  his  clients  some  of  the  best  and 
most  prominent  citizens  of  Lowndes,  Montgomery, 
and  Jefferson  countit-. 

He  was  noted  for  his  ability  as  a  lawyer,  his  high 
sense  of  honor,  sterling  integrity  and  honesty,  his 


10         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

unfailing  affability,  charity,  patriotism  and  love  of 
his  fellow  men. 

What  is  somewhat  rare  in  the  legal  profession, 
joined  with  fine  legal  ability,  he  possessed  business 
acumen  and  had  slowly  accumulated  a  handsome 
competence. 

His  life  was  full  of  good  deeds,  kindliness  and 
helpfulness  but  he  asked  for  no  inscription  to  be 
chiseled  on  his  monument  commemorating  any  of 
his  virtues  but  requested  this  only 

W.  R.  HOUGHTON 

A  CONFEDERATE  SOLDIER 

In  Oakwood  Cemetery  in  Montgomery,  the  Capital 
of  the  State  he  so  fondly  loved  stands  a  lofty  white 
marble  shaft  above  his  grave  with  the  above  simple 
but  heroic  inscription. 

The  following  tribute  to  his  memory  is  copied 
from  an  editorial  in  the  Birmingham  Age-Herald  of 
July  31st,  1906,  the  morning  after  his  death : 

"Judge  William  R.  Houghton  died  last  night  at  the 
Hillman  hospital  as  the  result  of  a  stroke  of  paraly- 
sis suffered  last  Tuesday  morning.  Since  stricken 
he  had  been  in  a  critical  condition  and  there  had 
been   little  hope   of  his   recovery. 

"On  Tuesday  Judge  Houghton  was  paralyzed  while 
walking  on  Eighteenth  street  and  in  a  few  hours 
lapsed  into  unconsciousness.  He  was  convey- 
ed to  the  hospital  where  he  had  received  the  best 
medical  attention.  He  remained  in  a  deep  stupor 
most  of  the  time  with  only  occasional  returns  to  con- 
sciousness. His  vocal  organs  were  affected  by  the 
stroke  and  he  had  never  been  able  to  speak  a  word, 
but  by  slight  movements  of  the  head  he  was  able  to 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER         11 

indicate  that  he  understood  remarks  addressed  to 
him. 

"Last  evening  about  6:30  o'clock  there  was  a  sink- 
ing spell  and  relatives  were  hurriedly  summoned. 
The  end  came  at  7:30  o'clock.  At  his  bedside  at 
the  time  were  his  son,  Harry  S.  Houghton  of  Mont- 
gomery and  the  deceased's  brother,  M.  B.  Houghton. 
He  leaves  also  a  sister  who  resides  in  Austin,  Tex. 

"Judge  Houghton's  body  will  be  carried  to  Mont- 
gomery this  morning  at  8 :30  o'clock.  The  funeral 
will  take  place  there  this  afternoon. 

SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE. 

"William  R.  Houghton  was  born  in  Heard  County, 
Georgia,  on  May  22,  1842.  When  he  was  but  a  small 
boy  his  family  moved  to  Alabama  and  settled  near 
Opelika,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  civil  war  he  was  teaching  school 
near  Mt.  Zion,  Ala.,  but  at  the  first  call  for  troops 
he  enlisted  in  the  Columbus,  (Ga.)  Guards.  He 
served  throughout  the  war  and  participated  with 
marked  gallantry  in  many  important  battles,  being 
wounded  several  times.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
took  up  the  study  of  law  and  practiced  at  Rutledge 
and  later  at  Hayneville. 

Moving  to  Birmingham  about  fifteen  years  ago  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  E.  T.  Talliferro,  and  later 
on  practiced  with  W.  A.  Collier.  In  1896  he  became 
the  partner  of  Capt.  W.  C.  Ward  in  the  law  firm  of 
Ward  &  Houghton  a  id  had  been  associated  with  him 
to  the  present  time. 

WAR  ANNALS. 

"Judge  Houghton  was  deeply  interested  in  liter- 


12         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ature  and  especially  war  annals.  He  made  valuable 
contributions  to  Confederate  history.  His  narrative 
papers  on  the  great  battles  are  regarded  as  having 
high  historical  value.  The  deceased  was  often  urged 
to  put  these  narratives  into  book  form,  and  was  en- 
gaged on  this  work  when  the  end  came. 

"Devoted  to  the  stirring  memories  of  the  sixties 
and  ever  bound  to  his  old  comrades  of  the  war,  Judge 
Houghton  accepted  the  results  of  the  surrender  and 
lived  and  worked  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  south. 
Proverbially  unassuming,  the  deceased  was  known 
far  and  wide  for  his  bravery  and  his  heroic  spirit, 
and  he  was  known,  too,  for  his  kindness  of  heart  and 
his  unostentatious  deeds  of  charity.  His  death  will 
be  profoundly  lamented  in  Alabama  and  to  Camp 
Hardee,  United  Confederate  Veterans,  his  passing 
away  will  come  as  a  real  grief." 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER         13 

WAR  RECORD  OF  W.   R.   HOUGHTON  WHILE 

SERVING  IN  CONFEDERATE  STATES 

ARMY. 

Name — W.  R.  Houghton. 

Where  born — Franklin,   Heard   County,   Georgia. 

Rank  when  entering  service — Private. 

Rank  at  close  of  service — Orderly  Sergeant,  de- 
tached as  scout  for  General  Longstreet. 

Age  at  time  of  enlistment — 18  years. 

Occupation  at  time  of  enlistment — School  teacher. 

Occupation  after  the  war — Lawyer. 

Condition  of  health — Never  robust. 

Residence  at  time  of  enlistment — Smith's  Station, 
Ala. 

Where  mustered  into  service — Tybee  Island. 

How  long — One  year,  afterward  for  the  war. 

Name  of  company — Columbus  Guards,  Co.  G., 
Captains  Roswell  C.  Ellis  and  Thomas  ChafTm,  Jr 

Regiment  served  in — Second  Georgia. 

Brigade — Benning's,  afterward  Toombs'. 

Division — Jones',    afterwards   Hood's. 

Corps — Longstreet's. 

Army — Northern  Virginia. 

How  often  on  furlough — Twice  for  wounds,  once 
for  gallantry  at  Chickamauga  and  once  on  one  day's 
leave. 

In  service  how  long — Three  years,  eleven  months 
three  weeks. 

How  many  times  wounded  and  where — Seven 
times,  once  at  Malvern  Hill,  once  at  Second  Manas- 
sas, other  wounds  slight,  at  Chickamauga,  Peters- 
burg and  below  Richmond. 

How  often  a  prisoner  of  war  and  where  captur- 


14         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ed — In  the  evening  of  ninth  of  April,  1865,  after 
General  Lee  had  surrendered  at  Appomattox. 

Discharged  from  service — April  12th,  1865,  at 
Appomattox  Court  House,  Va.,  paroled  as  a  pris- 
oner of  war. 

Engaged  in  battles  and  skirmishes — Yorktown, 
Seven  Pines,  Malvern  Hill,  Second  Manassas,  Thor- 
oughfare Gap,  Fredericksburg,  Suffolk,  Gettysburg, 
Falling  Waters,  Maryland,  Chickamauga,  Wills' 
Valley,  Knoxville,  Fort  Sanders,  Spottsylvania,  Cold 
Harbor,  Trenches  at  Petersburg,  one  month,  under 
incessant  fire,  North  James  River,  Fusell  Mills, 
Fort  Harrison,  Darbytown  Road  (three  separate 
engagements),  Petersburg  again  April  1st,  1865, 
Farmville  April  8th,  1865,  Appomattox  April  9th, 
1865.     Numerous  skirmishes  outside  the  lines. 


WAR  RECORD  OF  MITCHELL  B.   HOUGHTON 
WHILE   SERVING  IN  THE   CONFED- 
ERATE STATES  ARMY. 

Name — M.  B.  Houghton. 

Where  born — Franklin,  Heard  County,  Georgia. 

Rank — Private. 

Age  at  time  of  enlistment — 16  years. 

Occupation  at  time     of     enlistment — Newspaper 
work. 

Health — Fairly  good. 

Where  mustered     into     service — Fort     Mitchell 
Alabama. 

For  how  long; — One  year,  afterwards  for  the  war. 

Residence  at  time   of  enlistment — Newton,   Ala- 
bama. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        15 

Name  of  company — Glennville  Guards,  Com- 
pany H. 

Regiment  served  in — Fifteenth  Alabama. 

Brigade — Law's,  afterwards  Trimble's. 

Division — Hood's. 

Corps — Ewell's,  afterwards  Stonewall  Jackson's. 

Army — Northern  Virginia. 

Captain — William  Richardson. 

How  often  on  furlough — None  except  when 
wounded. 

In  service  how  long — Three  years,  eight  months. 

How  many  times  wounded  and  where — Twice,  in 
head  Second  Manassas,  in  hand  at  Chickamauga. 
Latter  light,  former  serious. 

How  often  a  prisoner  of  war  and  where  captured 
— On  foot  hills  of  Lookout  Mountain,  in  night  at- 
tack a  few  days  after  the  battle^,  of  Chickamauga. 
My  Captain  and  thirteen  others  captured  at  same 
time. 

Where  confined  and  how  long — Camp  Morton, 
Indiana,  16  months. 

Discharged  from  service,  at  Richmond,  Paroled 
when  liberated,  and  war  practically  over. 

Battles  engaed  in — Siege  of  Suffolk,  Second  Ma- 
nassas, Cedar  Run,  Port  Republic,  Gettysburg, 
Chickamauga,  and  in  all  the  engagements  of  Stone- 
wall Jackson's  valley  campaign  wherein  three  sep- 
arate forces  of  the  enemy  each  equal  in  numbers  to 
our  own  were  defeated  and  vast  wagon  trains  and 
stores  captured. 


M.  B.  Houghton  as  a  Confederate  Soldier 
in  the  Great  Civil  War  and  After 


In  the  year  1861  I  was  living  with  my  father  at 
Newton,  Dale  County,  Alabama,  our  family  having 
moved  in  1859  from  Russell,  now  Lee  County,  a 
county  formed  subsequent  to  the  war  by  partition- 
ing parts  of  Russell  and  other  contiguous  counties. 
The  family  at  that  time  consisted  of  my  father, 
Colonel  William  H.  Houghton,  my  mother,  who  was 
a  daughter  of  Rev.  Rev.  Mitchell  Bennett,  two  sisters, 
Julia  and  Beatrice,  and  myself.  My  only  brother, 
W.  R.  Houghton,  was  teaching  school  in  a  neigh- 
borhood of  wealthy  river  planters  near  Smith's  Sta- 
tion in  the  then  county  of  Russell.  My  oldest  sister, 
Elizabeth  Ann,  had  married  Caleb  R.  Olive  and  they 
were  living  at  Union  Springs.  Mr.  Olive  volun- 
teered in  the  Fourth  Alabama  Regiment  and  was 
mortally  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and 
we  do  not  know  the  place  of  his  burial. 

My  father  was  53  years  of  age  and  was  practic- 
ing law  in  Newton  in  partnership  with  J.  R.  Breare, 
an  Englishman,  and  enjoyed  a  lucrative  practice  as 
things  then  went.  My  father  was  known  as  Colonel 
Houghton,  having  commanded  a  troop  in  1837  or 
1838,  at  Wetumpka,  Alabama,  where  he  and  his 
brother,  Col.  R.  B.  Houghton,  latterly  of  Florida, 
were  then  living.  The  object  of  the  troop  was  to 
protect  the  town  of  Wetumpka  and  settlers  in  sur- 
rounding country  from  the  depredations  of  In- 
dians and  desperados. 

The  town  of  Newton  at  outbreak  of  the  war,  was 


M.  B.  HOUGHTON. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER         17 

a  flourishing  village,  the  county  site,  with  court 
house,  churches,  schools,  some  talented  lawyers, 
physicians,  and  other  citizens. 

I  was  employed  for  some  time  in  the  office  of 
clerk  of  the  circuit  court  and  afterward  became  a 
compositor,  assistant  pressman,  assistant  editor  of 
the  only  newspaper  published  in  the  town,  The 
Newton  Standard.  I  have  preserved  two  or  three 
copies  of  the  paper,  one  with  an  editorial  written  by 
my  father,  and  one  written  of  me  by  the  owner, 
editor  and  manager,  Mr.  A.  W.  Weir,  after  I  had 
volunteered  to  serve  in  the  Confederate  war. 

The  following  is  the  editorial  written  of  me  by 
Mr.  Weir: 

(From  the  Newton  Standard,  July  5th,  1861.) 

''Among  the  Dale  volunteers  that  will  start  to  Vir- 
ginia today,  may  be  found  our  worthy  associate  and 
warm  friend,  Mr.  M.  B.  Houghton.  We  part  with 
him  with  sincere  and  unfeigned  regret.  In  all  of 
our  experience  in  the  printing  and  publishing  life 
we  have  never  found  a  more  efficient,  industrious, 
steady  and  trustworthy  operator,  a  truer  friend 
and  a  more  high  minded,  honorable  gentleman;  but 
we  are  consoled  by  one  reflection  that  our  loss  will 
be  our  country's  gain.  No  truer  soldier,  no  more 
ardent  patriot,  no  more  worthier  man  can  be  found 
in  the  ranks  of  any  army.  The  prayers  and  un- 
ceasing solicitude  of  his  friends  in  Newton  will 
accompany  him  wherever  he  goes,  and  if  they  avail 
he  will  distinguish  himself  and  will  return  in  due 
time  to  the  embraces  of  his  fond  parents  and  the 
greetings  of  his  numerous  friends.  His  speech  at 
the  parting  meeting  last  night  was  some  evidence 
of  his  intrinsic  worth  and  the  faithful  manner  with 
which  he  will  discharge  his  duties  as  a  soldier." 


18         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

As  the  foregoing  was  said  of  me  by  another  T 
am  not  open  to  the  Biblical  admonition,  "Let  not 
him  that  putteth  on  his  armor  boast  as  he  that  tak- 
eth  it  off." 

I  entered  the  Confederate  Army  as  a  private  in 
a  company  recruited  from  Barbour,  Henry,  Dale 
and  Russell  Counties  in  Alabama. 

John  A.  Truitlen  of  Glennville,  Barbour  Coun- 
ty, came  to  Newton  in  July,  1861,  and  enrolled  some 
sixteen  volunteers,  myself  among  the  number.  I 
was  sixteen  years  old  and  fairly  well  developed  for 
a  boy  of  that  age. 

A  meeting  was  called  to  assemble  in  the  Court 
House,  patriotic  speeches  were  made,  military  ardor 
was  intensified  by  the  beating  of  drums  and  the 
shrill  notes  of  the  fife,  while  the  women  and  girls 
sang  patriotic  songs  amid  shouts  and  waving  of 
flags.  A  banquet  was  given  at  night  and  those  of 
us  who  had  enlisted  felt  that  we  were  great  heroes 
and  were  going  forth  to  participate  in  a  kind  of 
holiday  excursion,  soon  to  return  crowned  with  vic- 
torious laurels.  The  oratory  of  the  occasion  was 
very  fervid  and  the  people  were  wild  with  excite- 
ment. I  had  but  a  limited  education  and  knew  very 
little  of  the  ways  of  the  world,  but  felt  my  import- 
ance as  a  prospective  soldier  of  the  Confederacy. 

There  was  a  small  but  talented  theatrical  troupe 
playing  in  Newton,  the  two  principal  actors  were 
Virginians  about  thirty  years  of  age.  They  dis- 
solved their  company  and  enlisted  with  us.  They 
were  handsome,  educated  men  and  made  faithful 
and  brave  soldiers.  Their  names  were  W.  L.  Wil- 
son and  Frank  Boothby. 

We  went  in  wagons  to  Eufaula  and  thence  to 
Glennville  in  Barbour  County,  where  the  company 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        19 

was  recruited  to  its  full  strength  of  one  hundred 
men  and  named  the  Glennville  Guards.  John  R. 
Truitlen  was  elected  Captain,  who,  on  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Fifteenth  Alabama  Regiment  at  Fort 
Mitchell  was  appointed  Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Wil- 
liam Richardson  was  elected  in  his  place. 

Our  regimental  formation  was  made  at  Fort 
Mitchell,  a  railroad  and  river  station  about  nine 
miles  below  Columbus,  Georgia,  on  the  Alabama 
side.  The  regiment  known  as  the  Fifteenth  Ala- 
bama, was  made  up  here  and  James  Cantey,  who 
had  seen  service  in  the  Mexican  war,  was  appointed 
Colonel. 

The  Glennville  Guards  was  numbered  Company 
H,  by  which  designation  it  was  ever  afterward 
called. 

Col.  Cantey  made  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  so  we 
thought,  for  the  experience  of  military  life  was 
novel  and  somewhat  humiliating.  We  were  uni- 
formed in  Confederate  gray,  and  had  new  tents  and 
necessary  equipments.  The  regiment  was  a  fine 
looking  and  soldierly  body  of  a  thousand  strong. 
It  was  numbered  fifteen  and  was  afterward  cele- 
brated as  the  glorious  old  15th  Alabama  Regiment. 
Among  the  officers  was  Major  Daniels  of  Barbour 
County,  and  Captain  Vernoy,  our  commissary  from 
Columbus,  Georgia.  We  afterwards  found  that  the 
commissary  office  was  a  very  important  one,  and  an 
energetic  forager  for  his  men,  highly  to  be  praised, 
although  the  soldiers  mercilessly  jibed  and  ridi- 
culed him  whenever  the  rations  were  short  or  not 
on  time  and  he  was  seen  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  to 
the  rear  wk°n  the  enemy  was  encountered. 

I  do  not  remember  any  incidents  of  importance 


20         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

while  we  were  at  Fort  Mitchell  except  several  men 
were  drowned  in  the  river  while  bathing  and  ths 
daily  visits  of  the  ladies  to  our  camp  and  the  con- 
stant drill  and  daily  dress  parade. 

We  were  all  anxious  to  get  to  the  seat  of  war  and 
were  delighted  when  orders  came  to  break  camp 
and  board  the  cars  for  Virginia. 

We  bivouaced  at  Manassas,  arriving  just  one 
month  after  the  first  great  battle  was  fought.  Ob- 
taining permission  the  men  would  often  explore  the 
battlefield  and  eagerly  seize  any  relics  they  could 
find,  mostly  for  the  purpose  of  sending  back  to  rela- 
tives and  friends. 

We  camped  at  Centerville  six  miles  from  Ma- 
nassas about  six  months  and  it  was  the  most  try- 
ing period  of  the  war.  I  say  this  because  it  was  a 
period  of  enforced  idleness  with  little  to  break  the 
monotony  of  camp  life  but  drills  and  parades.  This 
was  the  time  that  the  frying  pan  and  the  raw  flour 
and  fresh  beef  got  in  their  deadly  work.  The  men 
fresh  from  their  homes  with  no  experience  in  cook- 
ing did  not  know  how  to  prepare  the  food  furnish- 
ed and  the  flap  jack  and  half  cooked  roast  produced 
dysentery  and  the  men  died  by  scores. 

The  first  few  months  of  our  camp  life  in  Virginia 
developed  a  hardihood  and  robustness  in  those  who 
survived  that  stood  them  well  in  hand  for  the  ar- 
duous marches,  the  great  privations,  the  scanty  ra- 
tions and  the  threadbare  clothing  and  equipme^f 
that  resulted  as  the  war  progressed.  Our  camps 
were  about  thirty  miles  of  Washington  and  our 
picket  lines  were  often  in  sight  of  the  dome  of  the 
great  Capitol  of  what  was  once  our  country.  It 
was  strange,  but  we  did  not  envy  our     Northern 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        21 

enemies  their  capital  nor  did  we  want  to  lay  waste 
their  land  and  country,  but  felt  that  we  had  divided 
our  possessions,  giving  them  their  full  share,  and 
only  desired  to  be  let  alone  and  left  to  make  the  best 
of  our  destiny. 

There  were  almost  daily  rumors  of  the  advance 
of  the  enemy  and  most  of  our  forces  being  untried 
and  raw  we  were  kept  in  a  high  state  of  expec- 
tancy. We  wanted  to  fight  and  wanted  to  do  so 
right  off,  but  the  enemy  would  not  gratify  us,  but 
patiently  worked  to  perfect  his  plans,  drill  his 
troops  and  make  a  serious  business  of  the  war. 

I  have  often  done  picket  duty  between  Fairfax 
Court  House  and  Washington,  guarding  some  lonely 
trail  in  the  blackness  of  night,  feeling  sure  that  I 
was  the  most  important  safeguard  of  the  splendid 
army  in  my  rear,  as  with  strained  eyes  I  peered 
into  the  woods  and  imagined  every  rustling  leaf  an 
enemy. 

Our  currency  was  good  for  a  few  months  of  our 
camp  life  and  we  could  purchase  fine  Norfolk  oys- 
ters at  fifty  cents  a  quart  and  the  vegetables  and 
fruits  with  which  Virginia  abounded,  at  reasonable 
prices.  There  were  a  great  many  hucksters  and 
the  soldiers  were  liberal  customers.  With  the  in- 
crease of  Confederate  money  the  peddlers  and 
their  wares  gradually  disappeared,  but  be  it  said  of 
the  noble  men  and  women  of  Virginia,  they  never 
turned  away  a  hungry  Confederate  soldier  if,  of 
their  scarry  store,  they  could  supply  his  necessities. 

We  had  fine  beef  in  abundance  when  we  first 
went  in  camp,  but  we  did  not  know  how  to  prepare 
it  and  were  not  accustomed  to  its  constant  use.  Ba- 
con would  have  suited  us  much  better  and  if  our  au- 


22         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

thorities  had  found  it  out  sooner  many  valuable 
lives  would  have  been  saved.  We  had  to  learn  how 
to  feed  an  army  by  degrees  and  the  lesson  was 
learned  at  a  fearful  cost  of  life.  I  have  seen  many 
excellent  quarters  of  Virginia  clover-fed  beef  lying 
in  our  camp  on  the  snow,  the  men  at  liberty  to  help 
themselves,  but  untouched  for  the  very  sight  got 
to  be  nauseating.  The  men  divided  into  messes  of 
three,  four  or  even  six  taking  turns  at  cook- 
ing, but  the  best  cook  usually  had  most  of  it  to  do, 
the  others  building  fires,  cutting  wood  or  bringing 
water.  I  did  not  like  large  messes  and  never  had 
more  than  three  to  divide  duties  with,  and  believe 
I  got  along  better  for  it.  We  had  skillets,  a  kind 
of  oven  with  a  handle  and  lid  and  would  cut  up  our 
beef,  put  in  the  oven,  fill  with  water,  put  coals  of 
fire  on  top  and  bottom  and  let  it  stew  all  night,  oc- 
casionally getting  up  to  replenish  the  fire  and  wa- 
ter. This  made  an  excellent  and  savory  stew  and 
was  highly  relished.  We  could  do  this  very  well 
while  in  regular  camp,  but  afterward  on  forced 
marches  we  had  no  time  or  utensils,  but  used  sticks 
or  our  ramrods  to  scorch  the  meat  and  baked  our 
bread  on  the  coals  if  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  anything  to  cook. 

When  McClellan  moved  the  seat  of  war  to  the 
Peninsular  and  tried  to  capture  Richmond  from  the 
East  we  marched  to  Ashland,  and  afterwards  to 
Gordonsville  so  as  to  be  in  readiness  to  repel  ,,~ 
attack  from  the  North  or  East. 

One  night  after  Pope  had  succeeded  McClellan 
as  commander  of  the  Federal  forces,  we  were  on  a 
range  of  hills  or  bluffs  on  the  South  side  of  the 
Rappahannock  river  and  the  enemy     occupied  the 


TWO  BOYS  IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        23 

opposite  side.  A  furious  cannonade  was  kept  up 
even  into  the  night,  while  we  could  only  lay  down 
and  submit  to  the  consequences.  A  large  shell 
struck  the  earth  about  three  feet  below  where  four 
of  us  were  reclining  on  the  brow  of  a  bluff  and 
nearly  covered  us  with  dirt,  but  fortunately  failed 
to  explode.  The  air  was  full  of  whizzing  balls  and 
bursting  shells,  but  the  destruction  of  life  in  con- 
sequence was  not  very  great. 

Early  in  the  night  we  started  on  a  forced  march 
up  the  river  which  we  waded  to  the  opposite  side 
about  midnight  and  with  the  Bull  Run  Mountains 
between  us  and  the  enemy  we  pushed  on  toward 
Manassas  Junction.  Tired,  wet,  wornout,  all  night 
long  we  pressed  forward,  wading  streams,  climbing 
hills,  across  farms,  through  forests  and  along  coun- 
try roads  until  the  morning  found  our  army  well  on 
the  way  to  the  rear  of  the  Federal  army.  We 
marched  through  a  gap  of  the  mountains  and  fol- 
lowed the  railroad  between  Washington  and  Rich- 
mond. At  Bristow  Station  the  advance  guard  and 
cavalry  had  a  fight  with  a  force  of  the  enemy  and 
we  came  up  in  time  to  see  the  finish.  While  we  were 
marching  by  the  station  a  small  detachment  of 
Federal  cavalry  made  a  dash  at  our  line.  They 
were  brave  fellows,  but  we  emptied  every  saddle 
before  they  could  reach  us  with  their  sabres. 

We  pressed  on  to  Manassas,  where  we  found 
train  loads  of  army  supplies  and  sutler  stores.  The 
boys  helped  themselves  and  I  got  some  coffee, 
canned  fruit  and  other  good  things.  We  were  in  the 
rear  of  Pope's  army  and  he  was  hastening  to  over- 
whelm us,  consequently  we  had  to  burn  and  destroy 
what  we  so  sadly  needed.     We  marched  about  Cen- 


24         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

treville  and  Bull  Run  for  two  or  three  days,  taking 
many  positions  and  obscuring  our  movements  in 
woods  and  behind  elevations  evidently  with  the  ob- 
ject of  deceiving  the  enemy  as  to  our  numbers  for 
he  was  coming  back  at  us  to  capture  or  destroy  our 
force  before  help  could  arrive.  One  evening  about 
dark,  our  lines  and  a  brigade  of  the  enemy  came  to- 
gether and  we  had  a  hot  fight.  The  firing  of  small 
arms  was  terrific  and  the  fiery  blaze  from  the  thous- 
ands of  guns  made  a  fire  works  display  that  was 
worth  seeing.  We  were  engaged  at  very  close 
quarters  and  the  cry  was  raised  "don't  fire,  you  are 
killing  our  men."  It  seemed  to  have  proceeded  from 
both  sides.  Many  ceased  firing  and  both  lines  soon 
withdrew  in  the  darkness  and  we  never  knew 
whether  we  were  shooting  at  friends  or  enemies, 
My  part  of  the  line  was  in  the  edge  of  a  little 
thicket  and  from  the  sizzing  balls  and  cut  twigs 
it  seemed  that  if  I  had  held  up  an  iron  hat  I  could 
have  caught  it  full  of  bullets  in  a  short  time. 

The  hottest  hand-to-hand  fight  I  ever  witnessed 
was  the  next  day  after  the  incident  just  related.  It 
seemed  General  Jackson  tried  to  avoid  an  engage- 
ment as  long  as  possible  in  order  to  give  time  for 
Longstreet's  Corps  to  come  to  our  aid  for  Pope  had 
turned  his  whole  army,  or  it  so  seemed  to  us  in  the 
endeavor  to  crush  our  small  force.  The  brigade  to 
which  I  belonged  was  stationed  behind  an  old  rail- 
road right  of  way  and  the  road  bed  had  been  partly 
graded.  The  lK+h  Alabama  had  an  embankment  in 
front  except  on  the  extreme  right  where  there  was 
an  open  space  of  some  fifty  yards  not  filled  in.  To 
the  right,  still  further,  was  a  cut  through  a  rise  or 
hill  about  six  to  eight  feet  deep.     Two  lines  of  bat- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        25 

tie  charged  our  front  and  a  part  forced  through 
the  opening,  but  we  slayed  nearly  every  man  who 
got  up  to  our  line.  They  pushed  our  men  back  from 
the  opening,  but  we  on  the  left  poured  an  enfilading 
fire  into  them  that  left  few  to  tell  the  story.  Three 
lines  of  battle,  one  after  another  in  beautiful  order 
with  banners  flying,  hurled  themselves  against  our 
men  in  the  cut.  The  front  line  was  nearly  anni- 
hilated, but  the  second  one  came  to  the  rescue  and 
nearly  met  the  same  fate,  but  some  of  the  men  and 
the  color  bearers  got  to  the  edge  of  the  cut  and 
waved  their  flags  over  our  men.  We  had  mostly 
muzzle  loading  guns  and  there  was  no  time  to  load. 
Then  such  a  contest  with  rocks  and  butt  ends  of 
muskets  I  have  never  seen  or  read  of  before  or 
since.  It  was  in  full  view  of  all  of  our  regiment 
next  to  our  right,  and  we  poured  an  enfilading  fire 
which  somewhat  staggered  the  third  line,  but  most 
of  them  got  to  the  edge  of  the  cut  and  were  about 
to  annihilate  our  men  with  overwhelming  numbers, 
when  with  shouts  and  yells,  our  reinforcements 
came  up  and  a  volley  or  two  put  the  enemy  to 
flight.  The  maddened  men,  the  flying  stones,  the 
clubbed  muskets,  the  shouts,  yells,  smoke,  dust,  din, 
and  rattle  of  that  scene  passes  description. 
I  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  banners  of  Longstreet's 
men  as  they  came  rushing  to  our  rescue  some  half 
mile  distant  and  our  men  shouted  in  unison  with 
them,  inspiring  us  with  a  joy  unspeakable  and 
made  every  man  redouble  his  efforts,  if  that  were 
possible. 

Our  company  fought  behind  the  old  dirt  bank. 
as  said  before,  and  in  front  of  us  was  a  small  wood- 
land which  gave  the  enemy  a  little  advantage  as  to 


26         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

cover  and  they  would  fire  at  us  whenever  we  show 
ed  ourselves  on  the  bank.  We  had  to  walk  up,  take 
a  little  time  to  get  an  aim,  which  gave  the  enemy 
a  fair  shot  and  we  lost  a  number  of  good  and  brave 
men  in  this  way.  William  Baily,  who  lived  near 
Newton,  Alabama,  and  myself  were  firing  alter- 
nately. I  had  gone  up  and  fired  and  stepped  back 
to  load  when  Baily  went  up  and  was  immediately 
shot  through  the  lower  part  of  the  neck.  He  fell 
over  me  and  I  assisted  him  a  little  way  to  the  rear. 
He  afterwards  died  at  home  from  the  effects  of 
this  wound. 

The  Federals  rapidly  retreated  after  their  bloody 
repulse  and  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  under 
Longstreet.  Our  regiment  was  moved  to  another 
part  of  the  field  in  the  direction  of  the  retreating 
enemy,  but  I  was  ordered  to  remain  at  our  last 
stand  to  succor  the  wounded  and  guard  the  regi- 
ment's baggage  and  some  supplies.  The  field  was 
literally  strewn  with  the  dead  and  wounded.  It  was 
a  grewsome  task,  alone  and  in  the  moonshine,  to 
guard  this  field  of  death  and  destruction.  The  pite- 
ous groans  and  wild  despairing  shrieks  of  the 
scores  of  helpless  wounded  would  have  appalled  any 
but  a  hardened,  half  starved  and  wornout  soldier. 
I  rendered  what  aid  I  could  to  those  around  and 
made  a  Ire  upon  which  I  broiled  some  bacon  and 
boiled  a  large  tin  cup  full  of  captured  coffee.  Near 
me  were  at  least  one  hundred  dead  men  and  six 
within  twenty  feet  of  my  camp  fire.  I  took  part  in 
the  battles  of  Gettysburg  and  Chickamauga  two  of 
the  greatest  and  most  sanguinary  contests  of  the 
war,  but  I  saw  more  dead  and  wounded  on  this  field 
than  in  either  of  the  two  named.  And  the  dead  were 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        27 

principally  the  enemy  for  our  loss  was  comparat- 
ively small,  considering  the  sanguinary  nature  of 
the  combat. 

The  enemy  retreated  towards  the  Potomac  and 
the  next  day  I  joined  the  regiment  in  pursuit,  al- 
though there  were  other  troops  in  our  front.  While 
following  the  enemy  two  days  after  the  battle  the 
rear  guard  of  the  Federals  planted  some  cannon 
on  an  eminence  a  mile  or  more  in  our  front  and 
shelled  us  with  great  vigor.  One  of  the  shells  burst 
above  our  line  which  was  in  marching  order  and 
a  fragment  struck  me  on  the  side  of  the  head  above 
the  right  ear.  A  hole  that  you  could  put  your 
thumb  through  was  torn  in  my  old  tough  wool  hat 
and  I  was  stunned  and  dazed.  I  felt  the  blood 
trickling  down  my  face  but  was  hardly  conscious 
of  my  condition.  I  do  not  remember  how  I  made  my 
way  but  do  remember  stopping  in  an  old  house 
where  there  were  many  wounded  being  operated  on 
by  a  surgeon.  Some  one  felt  of  my  head  and  told 
me  I  was  badly  hurt.  Several  pieces  of  the  outer 
scull  bone  came  out  and  I  began  to  suffer  great 
pain.  The  doctor's  time  was  all  taken  up  with  cut- 
ting off  broken  legs  and  arms  and  would  not  look 
at  others  who  had  no  shattered  limbs.  I  do  not  know 
how  I  did  it  but  I  filled  my  canteen  with  water, 
punched  a  hole  at  the  bottom  and  hung  it  up  on  a 
nail  in  the  wall.  I  then  laid  down  on  the  floor  and 
let  the  water  slowly  drip  on  the  wound.  I  kept  this 
up  all  night  and  the  next  morning  felt  somewhat  re- 
lieved but  was  in  a  semi-dazed  condition.  I  did  not 
get  any  medical  attention  and  did  not  ask  for  any: 
for  I  did  not  realize  the  necessity  and  the  serious 
nature  of  my  wound.    Pieces  of  shattered  bone  con- 


28         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

tinued  to  work  out  of  the  fracture  at  times  for  ten 
years  after  the  war.  For  some  time  after  the  wound 
I  have  no  recollection  as  to  what  happened  to  me, 
but  remember  to  have  been  in  a  hospital  and  to  have 
finally  recovered  sufficiently  to  rejoin  the  regiment. 
After  some  forty  years  I  often  feel  some  pain  from 
this  hurt  and  there  is  now  a  cut  in  the  bone  of  my 
head  about  a  quater  of  an  inch  deep  and  an  inch 
long. 

We  were  made  a  part  of  General  Stonewall  Jack- 
son's celebrated  foot  cavalry  and  took  part  in  his  his- 
toric campaign  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  which  I 
think  in  many  respects,  the  most  wonderful  of  the 
many  great  achievements  of  the  war.  The  men  were 
equal  or  superior  to  horses  on  the  march,  wading 
streams  and  rivers,  climbing  mountains  and  often 
engaged  in  skirmishes  and  brisk  little  fights  with 
the  enemy.  We  waded  the  Shenandoah  river,  the 
water  coming  up  to  our  necks  and  quite  cold  but  it 
did  not  strike  us  then  as  anything  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary. We  crossed  and  recrossed  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains  at  a  great  elevation  and  one  night  camped 
near  the  summit.  As  the  regiments  filed  into  their 
positions  in  the  wooded  coves  the  bands  played  "The 
Girl  I  Left  Behind  Me,"  and  other  familiar  airs 
which  resounded  among  the  mountain  heights  and 
greatly  flighted  the  weary  soldiers.  I  thought  I 
had  never  heard  anything  so  beautiful  and  inspir- 
ing and  in  fact  I  have  not  since. 

We  captured  an  immense  wagon  train  with  sup- 
plies and  were  retreating  up  the  Valley  towards 
Staunton  on  the  west  side  of  the  Shenandoah  river 
pursued  by  Fremont  and  an  army  equal  to  our  own 
in  numbers.  On  the  opposite  side  an  equal  force  un- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        29 

der  Shields  was  trying  to  head  us  off.  At  Port  Repub- 
lic was  a  bridge,  our  only  means  of  crossing  an  un- 
fordable  river.  As  we  came  up  on  the  hills  in  view 
of  the  bridge  and  the  valley  beyond  the  enemy  was 
in  sight  on  the  other  side.  Fremont  also  attacked 
our  rear,  and  our  regiment  with  others  had  to  right 
about  and  fight  his  forces.  We  made  short  work  of 
it  charging  right  up  to  their  batteries,  not  giving 
them  time  to  work  them  effectively.  While  crossing 
a  rail  fence  I  saw  a  Yankee  take  a  deliberate  aim  at 
me  as  I  straddled  the  top  rail.  The  bullet  buried 
itself  in  the  rail  but  did  me  no  harm. 

After  forcing  back  Fremont's  forces  we  hurried 
toward  the  bridge  arriving  in  time  to  witness  a 
brisk  fight  going  on  across  the  river.  The  position 
we  occupied  was  much  higher  and  we  had  a  fine 
view  of  the  contest  which  was  raging  in  the  valley 
beyond.  We  saw  one  line  of  our  men  charge  the 
enemy  but  were  received  with  such  a  galling  fire 
they  faltered  and  lay  down  on  the  grass.  Another 
brigade  double  quicked  up  and  with  the  "Rebel"  yell 
rushed  over  them  and  put  the  enemy  to  flight.  Our 
calvary  pursued  them  with  relentless  vigor  and  they 
returned  no  more  to  trouble  us. 

We  had  defeated  two  armies  equal  to  our  own  in 
numbers,  saved  an  immense  wagon  train  and  leis- 
urely marched  toward  Richmond.  Some  time  after- 
ward the  enemy  rallied  their  forces  and  resolved  to 
try  us  once  more.  They  attacked  us  while  we  held 
a  position  on  the  base  of  a  huge  hill  we  called  Cedar 
Mountain.  They  gave  us  a  hard  fight  which  was 
highly  scenic  and  picturesque  as  we  were  far  above 
the  plains  below  and  both  sides  occupied  at  times 
commanding  positions  in  full  view  of  each     other 


30         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

The  charges  and  counter  charges,  the  play  of  many 
batteries  of  artillery,  and  the  incessant  rattle  of 
musketry  away  up  on  these  eminences  made  a  pic- 
ture of  real  war  that  we  could  see  and  realize.  We 
finally  repulsed  them  with  heavy  loss  but  it  was  not 
a  rout  for  they  greatly  outnumbered  us. 

I  have  seen  some  daringly  foolhardy  deeds  but 
where  so  many  unflinchingly  acted  heroic  parts  it 
is  hard  to  discriminate.  We  often  thought  if  the 
enemy  would  only  fight  us  two  to  one  or  double  our 
number  we  would  ask  no  easier  job  than  to  whip 
them,  but  we  hardly  ever  had  less  than  twice  our 
force  to  contend  with  and  often  three  times  our  num- 
ber. There  was  no  disputing  the  fact  that  our  men 
were  the  best  fighters  for  we  had  our  hearts  in  the 
work  and  our  homes  at  stake,  while  the  enemy 
fought  more  like  machines  and  their  souls  were  not 
in  it. 

It  was  at  the  siege  of  Suffolk  I  witnessed  a  foolish 
act  of  bravery  on  the  part  of  an  aid,  a  Lieutenant 
Cousins  from  Mobile.  We  had  earthworks  about 
five  feet  high  and  the  enemy's  sharpshooters  were  in 
a  bushy  swamp  in  our  front.  This  Lieutenant  would 
get  on  top  of  the  fort,  take  out  his  glasses  and  peer 
at  the  enemy's  position  and  to  show  his  contempt 
for  thi  ir  markmanship  he  would  occasionally  stoop 
down  and  with  his  pocket  knife  dig  in  the  dirt  for 
the  balls.  He  had  long  curly  hair  and  was  over  six 
feet  tall,  his  appearance  altogether  impressing  us 
that  he  led  a  charmed  life.  He  was  not  hurt  at  this 
time  nor  afterwards  that  I  ever  heard  of. 

When  our  forces  were  near  Orange  Court  House, 
I  was  detailed  to  guard  a  private  house  some  two 
miles  from  camp.    I  do  not  know  the  reason  a  guard 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        31 

was  necessary  unless  it  was  to  keep  away  foragers 
as  we  called  the  men  who  were  constantly  seeking 
from  the  hospitable  Virginia  people  something  bet- 
ter to  eat  than  our  army  rations.  M.  M.  Pannell 
was  the  name  of  the  man  whose  house  I  protected 
and  I  shall  never  forget  the  kindness  of  the  lady  of 
the  house.  She  was  a  true  Virginia  gentle  woman, 
full  of  grace  and  sweetness  and  made  me  feel  more 
like  an  honored  guest  than  a  soldier  under  orders. 
I  had  the  satisfaction  of  halting  many  intruders  but 
I  can  testify  to  the  credit  of  the  Confederate  soldiers 
in  our  army  not  one  of  whom  persisted  in  trying 
to  enter  contrary  to  my  warnings.  I  remained  on 
guard  about  the  premises  for  more  than  a  week  and 
then  our  command  was  ordered  to  another  part  of 
Virginia.  It  was  stange  but  months  after  I  had 
guarded  this  home,  and  after  the  campaign  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  while  we  were 
leisurely  retreating  toward  Richmond  I  was  detailed 
to  guard  the  same  premises,  where  I  again  remain- 
ed several  days.  One  thing  impressed  me  less  at  the 
time  than  afterwards,  was  a  remark  of  Mr.  Pan- 
nell that  our  cause  was  lost  after  the  battle  of  Get- 
tysburg, but  I  was  young  and  enthusiastic  and  re- 
fused to  believe  it.  Mrs.  Pannell  gave  me  a  red 
Morocco  bound  little  New  Testament  which  I  car- 
ried in  my  side  pocket  during  the  remainder  of  the 
war  including  the  great  battles  of  Gettysburg  and 
Chickamauga  and  fourteen  months  in  Camp  Morton 
prison.  I  lost  this  highly  prized  relic  forty  years 
after  the  war  in  a  fire  on  Court  Street  in  Mont- 
gomery. 

The  grandest  military  display  I  ever  witnessed 
was  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  river  when  Gen- 


32         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

eral  Lee's  army  crossed  over  for  the  invasion  of 
Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  I  was  one  of  the  Pro- 
vost guard  whose  duties  were  sometimes  in  the  front 
and  at  others  in  the  rear  or  on  the  flank,  but  why 
we  were  on  this  particular  occasion  in  the  front  I 
do  not  know. 

We  were  stationed  near  the  river  bank  on  a  beau- 
tiful bright  morning  when  the  calvary  in  columns  of 
fours  marched  by.  The  horses  were  in  good  trim 
and  the  men  in  high  spirits.  The  procession  seem- 
ed endless.  Then  came  Battery  after  battery  of  ar- 
tillery and  the  gray  hosts  of  infantry.  These  men 
were  all  tried  veterans  inspired  with  a  spirit  of  in- 
vincible determination  and  had  the  bearing  of  he- 
roes. 

The  change  of  tactics  or  plans  from  the  defensive 
to  the  aggressive  made  a  wonderful  change  in  the 
bearing  and  spirit  of  our  men.  They  marched  in 
close  order  with  a  steadiness  and  vigor  and  an  air 
of  conscious  power  and  superiority  that  was  majes- 
tic. The  men  appeared  to  be  over  the  average  in 
size  and  weight,  fairly  well  equipped  and  uniform- 
ed and  had  unbounded  confidence  in  their  great  Com- 
mander. 

I  had  seen  many  bodies  of  fine  soldiers  but  this 
army  -»f  invasion  impressed  me  at  the  time  as  being 
the  most  superb  fighting  machine  the  world  ever 
saw.  After  many  years  I  have  no  reason  to  change 
the  opinion  then  formed.  With  proper  leadership 
they  would  have  routed  the  federal  forces  at  Get- 
tysburg but  it  was  impossible  to  scale  rocky  heights 
and  dislodge  a  foe  superior  in  numbers  at  the  same 
time.  It  was  a  fatal  mistake  to  join  battle  with  the 
enemy  in  his  chosen  position  where  the  natural  ob- 
stacles were  almost  insurmountable. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        33 

Our  brigade  appeared  to  occupy  the  extreme  right 
at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  At  one  time  the  enemy 
occupied  a  hill  in  our  front  that  was  very  steep  and 
rocky.  We  were  on  a  hill  also,  within  rifle  range 
but  between  us  was  a  deep  ravine.  We  could  see  they 
were  in  some  confusion  and  their  teams  and  army 
wagons  ready  for  flight.  The  men  in  ranks  spoke  of 
such  a  favorable  opportunity  to  flank  them  on  the 
left  as  that  part  seemed  wholly  unprotected.  It 
seemed  to  us  that  a  brigade  or  even  a  regiment 
could  have  turned  their  left  and  started  a  panic  that 
might  have  caused  a  different  result  to  have  hap- 
pened. Some  of  the  officers  afterward  believed  it 
could  have  been  done  but  no  one  in  authority  saw  it 
at  the  time. 

GETTYSBURG. 

One  of  the  saddest  sights  I  ever  witnessed  was 
on  the  field  of  Gettysburg.  We  had  captured  some 
fifteen  hundred  prisoners  and  I  was  one  of  the  guard 
marching  them  to  the  rear.  Passing  along  where 
there  were  hundreds  dead,  wounded  and  mutilated 
I  saw  a  soldier  with  a  North  Carolina  regiment  mark 
in  his  cap  leaning  against  a  fly  tent.  A  fragment  of 
a  shell  had  struck  him  above  the  breast  bone  and 
tore  the  whole  stomach  lining  away  leaving  exposed 
his  heart  and  other  organs  which  were  in  motion 
and  he  seemed  alive  and  conscious.  I  lingered  a 
moment  for  I  had  never  seen  any  thing  so  shocking 
before  nor  have  I  seen  the  countenance  of  a  dying 
man  so  peculiar  and  unearthly.  The  artillery  fire 
at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  something  terrific. 
The  battle  field  abounded  in  mounds  and  hills  which 


34         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

were  advantageous  for  planting  and  operating  the 
cannon  and  the  batteries  on  both  sides  were  the  pride 
of  either  army.  I  do  not  know  the  number  oper- 
ated at  the  same  time  but  it  was  said  to  be  five 
hundred;  but  I  do  know  the  roar  was  awful  and 
the  heavens  surcharged  with  hissing,  roaring  balls 
screeching,  screaming,  bursting  shells  enveloped  in 
sulphorous  smoke  that  clouded  the  July  sun.  When 
the  heavens  are  rolled  together  as  a  scroll  in  the  last 
dsys  I  doubt  whether  it  will  present  a  more  awe- 
inspiring  spectacle  than  that  historic  field  present- 
ed on  that  fatal  day. 

EXCITING  ADVENTURE. 

A  few  days  before  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  while 
we  were  encamped  near  the  base  of  the  South  Moun- 
tains in  Pennsylvania,  three  of  us  obtained  permis- 
sion to  go  out  foraging  or  in  other  words  to  buy 
something  better  to  eat  than  our  army  rations  and 
incidentally  to  have  an  adventure  of  some  kind. 

We  saw  a  farm  house  dimly  in  the  distance  and 
bore  down  on  it  fully  expecting  to  share  some  frugal 
Dutchman's  ample  supply  of  good  things  but  on  a 
near  approach  the  sight  of  a  half  dozen  birds  of  the 
same  feather  as  ourselves  blighted  our  hopes,  but  did 
riv,!"  dismay  us.  We  saw  a  clearing  on  the  foothills 
of  the  mountain  far  in  the  distance  and  rapidly  made 
our  way  toward  it.  We  found  an  uncultivated  field 
and  an  abondoned  house,  but  beyond  a  trail  or  path 
that  had  been  recently  traveled.  Following  the  trail 
we  came  into  a  thicket  so  dense  and  dark  that  one  of 
my  companions  proposed  that  we  go  back  as  we 
might  get  into  trouble,  but  we  overruled  him  and 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        35 

pressed  on.  Suddenly  the  front  man  came  to  a  halt, 
brought  his  gun  to  a  ready  and  we  followed  his  ex- 
ample very  quickly.  He  had  discovered  a  horse  fas- 
tened by  a  line  to  a  sapling  about  fifty  yards  ahead, 
but  on  investigation  could  find  no  claimant.  I  had 
separated  from  my  companions  a  few  paces  when  I 
discovered  an  entrance  to  a  cave  and  called  to  them 
to  examine  it.  Below  was  an  immense  ledge  of  rock 
and  an  opening  in  which  some  dirt  had  collected 
and  I  saw  human  tracks.  We  called  to  the  supposed 
inmates  to  come  out  that  we  would  not  harm  them, 
but  could  get  no  response.  Finally  against  the  pro- 
test of  my  companions  I  entered,  and  advanced  slow- 
ly following  the  dim  passage.  I  had  gone  some  dis- 
tance, when  a  short  turn  revealed  a  sight  that 
made  my  hair  stand  on  end.  Reclining  on  a  rock 
was  apparently  a  pretty  girl  and  near  by  was  a  man 
with  a  gun  in  his  hand.  Their  den  was  dimly  light- 
ed through  crevices  in  the  top  in  which  were  fallen 
trees  and  limbs  resting  on  the  ledges  of  rock. 

As  I  was  in  a  position  where  I  could  not  be  seen, 
I  watched  carefully  for  other  occupants  until  I  was 
convinced  they  were  alone.  They  commenced  a  con- 
versation in  a  low  tone  and  slipping  into  a  crevice  of 
the  rock  I  determined  to  test  their  nerve.  "Hello' 
there,"  I  called,  and  the  effect  was  magical.  He 
bounded  up  striking  his  head  against  the  logs  and 
she  screamed  a  succession  of  very  healthy  and  vol- 
uminous screams.  Her  companion  cried  "mine  Got! 
we  be  kilt  already,  mine  Got!"  and  kept  time  with 
her  for  several  minutes.  Finally,  during  a  lull  I  call- 
ed to  him  to  stuff  his  hat  in  his  mouth  and  stop  that 
noise,  for  I  would  not  hurt  him  and  if  they  contin- 
ued they  would  scare  all  the  wolves  and  bears  off  the 


36         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

mountain  and  run  the  rebels  back  over  the  Potomac. 
My  jocular  tone  somewhat  assured  them  but  they 
trembled  perceptibly,  visible  even  in  a  dim  light. 

I  ordered  the  man  to  put  his  gun  aside,  which  he 
did,  and  I  advanced  into  their  chamber.  My  cap- 
tives I  found  to  be  a  fair  Dutch  girl  and  her  com- 
panion her  brother,  an  overgrown  boy.  They  had 
been  over  the  mountain  on  a  visit  when  our  cacalry 
cut  them  off  from  home  and  their  minds  were  so 
filled  with  fear  of  the  horrid  rebels  they  had  sought 
this  retreat  the  whereabouts  they  had  learned  in 
hunting.  We  led  them  to  their  horse  and  down  the 
mountain  to  the  place  where  they  had  left  their  jer- 
sey wagon,  hitched  it  up  and  sent  them  on  their  way 
rejoicing  and  heaping  blessings  on  the  heads  of 
"repols"  generally. 

During  the  campaign  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia 
while  we  were  on  the  march,  General  Stonewall 
Jackson,  our  commander,  several  times  rode  to  the 
front  from  the  rear  of  his  army.  At  such  times  we 
knew  he  was  coming  by  the  shouts  of  the  men  be- 
hind who  quickly  opened  rank  two  and  two  on  either 
side  of  the  roadway.  He  came  in  a  gallop  on  his 
chestnut  brown  horse,  sitting  not  gracefully  but 
easily,  with  the  visor  of  his  cap  well  down  over  his 
brow  and  a  pleased  expression  on  his  countenance. 
While  not  an  imposing  military  figure  he  appeared 
soldierly  and  striking.  The  men  were  wild  with  en- 
thusiasm whenever  he  appeared,  giving  vent  to  their 
admiration  by  continual  shouts  and  waving  of  hats. 
We  had  unbounded  confidence  in  his  leadership  and 
would  have  rushed  into  the  jaws  of  death  had  he  so 
ordered.  It  is  said  that  he  rode  down  near  the 
bridge  over  the  Shenandoah  river,  when  pressed  in 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        37 

the  rear  by  Fremont  and  saw  that  Shield's  forces 
had  planted  a  battery  on  the  other  side  commanding 
the  bridge,  our  only  means  of  crossing  over.  He 
shouted  to  the  enemy  to  move  that  battery  lower 
down,  that  the  rebels  were  crossing  below,  which 
order  they  quickly  obeyed.  He  then  rushed  a  bri- 
gade across  and  met  the  Federals  before  they  found 
out  that  they  had  been  duped.  The  truth  was  that 
some  of  our  cavalry  did  cross  the  river,  but  far  be- 
low the  bridge  we  so  badly  wanted  at  the  time. 

We  were  all  proud  of  our  connection  with  Jack- 
son's army  and  whenever  asked  to  what  command 
we  belonged  we  replied  "to  Jackson's  Foot  Cavalry." 

Jackson  was  merciless  in  marching  his  men,  pre- 
ferring to  strike  terror  to  the  foe  by  a  surprise  and 
flank  or  rear  attack  and  at  an  unexpected  time 
rather  than  have  his  men  meet  superior  forces  on 
their  chosen  battle  ground. 

One  of  the  bravest  men  I  ever  saw  in  battle,  and 
I  have  seen  many  brave  ones,  was  John  G.  Archi- 
bald from  west  Alabama,  I  believe  from  Greensboro. 
He  was  not  spectacular  in  his  ways,  making  himself 
a  target  without  reason,  but  always  exchanged 
places,  if  in  the  rear  rank,  with  the  front  man  when 
a  fight  was  imminent  giving  as  his  reason  that  he  did 
not  want  to  be  shot  with  a  dirty  ball.  He  was  never 
seen  to  show  a  tremor  under  the  most  galling  fire 
nor  to  dodge  a  hissing  shell,  but  always  stood  square- 
ly to  the  front,  cool  and  determined.  He  was  about 
45  years  of  age,  rather  under  medium  size,  jocular 
and  good  humored.  I  saw  him  shot  through  the 
face  the  ball  entering  just  below  the  left  cheek  bone 
and  coming  out  on  the  right  of  his  neck,  making  a 
horrible  wound.     We  all  thought  he  was  mortally 


38         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

hurt  but  such  was  his  vitality,  he  returned  to  ranks 
within  six  weeks,  as  valiant  and  true  as  ever. 

The  rations  given  us  were  often  insufficient  to 
appease  hunger,  and  consequently  there  was  more  or 
less  foraging  to  supplement  the  deficiency.  One  even- 
ing two  of  our  men  went  to  a  farmer's  house  but 
found  nothing  they  wanted  but  some  stands  of  bees. 
Waiting  until  dark  a  little  distance  off  they  returned 
but  found  the  place  guarded  by  a  fierce  dog.  By 
some  means  they  made  friends  of  him  and  soon  made 
way  with  two  stands  fairly  well  filled  with  honey. 
Next  day  the  farmer  complained  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  theft,  and  stated  that  he  had  left  his 
dog  to  guard  the  premises.  The  officer  inquired 
why  the  dog  had  not  done  his  duty,  "The  scoundrels 
stole  the  dog  too"  said  the  farmer  at  which  we  all 
laughed  him  into  a  good  humor. 

Longstreet's  corps  was  transferred  to  Georgia  to 
aid  General  Bragg  and  in  a  short  time  after  we 
plunged  into  the  battle  of  Chicamauga  one  of  the 
great  battles  of  the  war,  and  one  among  a  number 
of  the  most  destructive  recorded  in  history. 

Our  regiment,  the  15th  Alabama  did  not  get  into 
the  hottest  part  of  the  great  fight,  but  we  lost  many 
men.  We  were  engaged  mostly  in  the  woods  and 
with  a  retreating  foe.  We  mixed  up  with  the  Fed- 
erals several  times  and  shot  at  each  other  at  close 
range.  I  was  slightly  wounded  by  a  minnie  ball 
cutting  open  the  top  of  my  left  fore  finger  but  other- 
wise escaped  unhurt.  After  the  battle,  while  on 
picket  duty  near  Chattanooga,  I  often  exchanged 
newspapers  and  tobacco  with  the  Yankee  pickets. 
The  Western  men  we  found  braver  and  more  stub- 
born than  those  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        39 

Our  rations  about  this  time,  were  irregular  and 
very  poor.  Our  bread  was  made  from  corn  and 
pea  meal  mixed  and  unsifted,  with  a  very  small 
piece  of  rusty  bacon.  The  constant  downpour  of 
rain  made  the  bread  an  unsavory  mush.  It  was  not 
strengthening  and  the  men  became  greatly  weak- 
ened. 

About  two  weeks  after  the  battle  of  Chickamau- 
ga  we  were  ordered  upon  Lookout  Mountain.  It  was 
a  night  march  and  altogether  through  woods  and 
undergrowth.  We  halted  several  times,  formed  line 
of  battle  and  threw  up  breatworks  of  logs  and  rocks 
only  to  leave  them  and  go  forward.  Finally  we 
reached  the  crest  of  a  range  west  of  Lookout.  We 
halted,  formed  line  of  battle  and  made  slight 
breastworks  as  before.  We  could  hear  the  rumbling 
of  the  wagons  and  the  sound  of  horses'  feet  far  be- 
low in  the  valley.  We  constantly  expected  the  ene- 
my to  attack  us  in  front  but  we  could  not  see,  for 
the  woods  were  dense  and  the  hills  steep,  somewhat 
precipitous.  It  was  an  ominous  hour  for  the  thin 
gray  line,  away  up  on  the  mountain  top  in  the  midst 
of  the  scraggy  woods.  We  could  hear  the  roar  of 
the  moving  hosts  of  the  enemy  with  fresh  re-enforce- 
ments prepared  to  cut  off  our  retreat  and  strike  us 
in  the  rear.  About  12  o'clock  at  night  we  heard  vol- 
ley after  volley  of  musketry  far  to  our  left,  but  the 
firing  was  intermittent  and  followed  by  ominous 
silence.  The  enemy's  pickets  were  in  front  of  us 
and  we  fired  several  volleys  into  the  dark  woods 
whenever  we  heard  the  rustling  of  leaves  and 
bushes,  but  they  did  not  answer.  No  doubt  it  was 
a  mistake  to  have  fired  when  we  did  as  it  only  served 
to  reveal  our  position.  Suddenly  one  of  the  enemy's 


40         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

pickets  came  blustering  up  to  our  line  immediately 
in  front  of  my  position,  beseeching  us  not  to  shoot, 
that  they  were  friends,  and  talking  like  a  crazy  man. 
Five  or  six  muskets  were  pointed  at  his  breast,  but 
no  one  fired.  Without  faltering,  he  came  right  into 
our  line  but  did  not  hold  his  gun  at  ready,  talking 
and  gesticulating  like  an  actor.  One  of  our  men  took 
his  gun  and  gathering  him  by  the  collar  made  him 
lay  down,  threatening  to  use  the  butt  of  his  gun 
on  his  head  if  he  did  not  keep  quiet.  The  tension  of 
expectancy  was  now  intense  and  I  was  so  occupied 
with  the  front  that  I  do  not  know  what  became  of 
him. 

A  few  minutes  after  two  companies  of  our  regi- 
ment on  the  extreme  left  broke  and  fell  back,  nearly 
doubling  on  us.  The  officers  finally  succeeded  in  ral- 
lying most  of  them  and  they  returned  to  their  posi- 
tions. It  was  but  a  very  short  time  after  this  that 
all  of  the  left  of  the  regiment  fell  back  in  confus- 
ion and  stampeded  to  the  rear.  Not  a  shot  had  been 
fired  and  we  could  see  no  enemy.  Most  of  us  got 
up  and  followed  but  more  leisurely.  With  several 
others  I  made  an  effort  to  rally  the  men.  I  remem- 
ber one  fellow  ran  by  me  so  excitedly  that  he  struck 
a  large  size  sapling,  straddling  it  and  going  over 
the  top  down  the  hillside.  I  called  to  my  compan- 
ions "Let's  go  back,  I  do  not  see  anything  to  run 
from."  Twelve  or  fifteen  of  us  did  return  to  our 
former  places  and  in  the  confusion,  being  at  night 
and  in  the  woods,  we  thought  the  regiment  was  re- 
forming. It  never  occurred  to  me  that  the  enemy 
had  flanked  us,  and  we  kept  a  sharp  watch  out  in 
front. 

A  short  time  after  we  had  resumed  our  positions 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        41 

the  rustling  of  leaves  and  tramp  of  men  in  my  rear 
attracted  my  attention  and  I  turned  to  see  what  it 
was.  In  the  dim  moonshine  I  saw  a  line  of  men  that 
appeared  better  uniformed  than  our  men  and  seem- 
ed larger,  and  had  brighter  guns.  Still  I  would  not 
believe  that  our  men  had  all  gone  and  decided  they 
were  re-enforcements.  The  line  advanced  within 
fifteen  or  twenty  steps  and  I  raised  up  and  asked 
what  regiment  that  was.  The  answer  came  "the 
74th  Ohio,"  and  I  knew  I  was  in  a  bad  fix,  for  I 
heard  another  officer  command  to  shoot  the  first  man 
who  showed  himself  in  front.  When  the  line  was 
nearly  on  me  I  gave  up,  and  I  found  later  they  had 
my  Captain  Richardson  and  fifteen  other  men. 

PRISON  EXPERIENCE 

It  was  a  novel  experience  to  find  one's  self  a  boy 
prisoner  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy  we  did  not  high- 
ly respect.  The  blue  coats  were  every  where;  there 
seemed  to  be  myriads  of  them  and  they  seemed  to 
be  handsomely  uniformed,  well  fed  and  thoroughly 
equipped  with  superior  guns,  accoutrements,  wagons 
and  tents,  presenting  a  striking  contrast  to  my  brave 
Confederate  countrymen  whose  manly  hearts  were 
beating  true  under  tattered  and  time-worn  gray  rem- 
nants of  former  uniforms.  We  were  sent  up  in  a 
boat  to  Chattanooga  and  guarded  two  days  and  then 
forwarded  in  freight  cars  to  Nashville.  At  the  lat- 
ter place  we  were  confined  in  the  capitol  and  the 
yards  surrounding  it.  Here  we  were  drawn  up  in 
line  and  reviewed  by  Andrew  Johnson,  the  military 
governor,  and  afterwards  president  of  the  United 
States. 


42         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Those  who  consented  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  North  were  released  but  few  did  so,  and  then 
Gov.  Johnson  appeared  disappointed  and  mad  at 
what  he  considered  the  stubbornness  of  the  helpless 
prisoners.  As  fast  as  transportation  could  be  pro- 
vided we  were  forwarded  via  Louisville  to  Camp 
Morton  prison,  near  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  On  the 
way  from  Chattanooga  to  Nashville  I  believe  some 
of  us  could  have  escaped,  as  the  cars  were  loosely 
guarded,  but  most  of  us  after  the  trying  experiences 
of  the  Chickamauga  battle,  the  heavy  rains  and  poor 
rations,  were  nearly  prostrated.  After  the  excite- 
ment of  battle  and  subsequent  capture  we  had  phy- 
sically collapsed  and  did  not  possess  vitality  enough 
for  a  desperate  undertaking. 

It  was  in  the  latter  part  of  September  1863,  we  ar- 
rived at  Camp  Morton  named  for  Governor  Morton 
of  Indiana.  The  Prison  had  been  the  State  fair 
grounds  enclosed  with  a  stockade  about  twelve  feet 
high,  made  of  one  by  twelve  inch  plank  nailed  up- 
right on  the  outside  of  which  was  a  sentry  walk  or 
platform  about  three  feet  from  the  top.  About  eight 
or  ten  acres  were  enclosed,  and  the  old  cattle  and 
animal  sheds  were  our  barracks.  These  houses  were 
made  of  plank  placed  up  and  down  with  the  cracks 
or  joints  not  broken  or  stripped  and  had  dirt  floors. 
The  barracks  had  three  rows  of  board  bunks  on  each 
side  of  an  eight  foot  passage  way.  Three  men  were 
assigned  each  bunk  and  no  bedding  furnished.  Three 
to  four  thousand  men  were  confined  in  this  Camp  un- 
der very  strict  surveillance.  It  was  a  motley  crowd, 
dressed  or  partly  dressed  in  all  kinds  of  clothes  ex- 
cept good  and  clean  ones.  Most  of  the  men  when 
captured,  were  worn  out  and  famished  and  their 
faces  had  a  haggard  and  weary  appearance. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        43 

Our  bread  was  cooked  in  a  bakery  out  side  the 
walls  and  was  good  and  wholesome  but  only  a  half 
pound  loaf  was  allowed  daily.  The  daily  allowance 
was  devoured  in  a  few  minutes.  Our  meats  were 
cooked  in  big  cauldrons  inside  the  camp  and  was 
usually  beef.  No  coffee  or  tea  was  given  us  but  we 
had  some  beans  and  soup  occasionally.  The  gen- 
eral ration  was  cut  down  to  less  than  half  the  army 
allowance  and  many  men  slowly  starved  to  death. 

Some  of  the  officers  commanding  were  cruel  and 
tyrannical  and  inflicted  all  sorts  of  punishment  on 
many  of  the  men  who  committed  thoughtless  acts 
or  were  in  any  way  refractory.  Often  men  were  re- 
ported by  spies  and  traitors  among  us  to  the  com- 
mander for  the  expression  of  any  sentiment  of  hope 
for  victory  for  our  side  or  criticism  of  the  Federal 
conduct  of  the  war  or  the  management  of  the  pris- 
on. Tieing  up  by  the  hands,  bucking  and  gagging 
were  common.  Whenever  a  prisoner  escaped  they 
seemed  to  take  revenge  on  many  of  the  men  by  more 
than  usual  severity  of  treatment.  It  was  not  uncom- 
mon for  a  guard  to  shoot  a  prisoner  for  very  slight 
infraction  of  the  rules,  and  one  little  officer  said  to 
have  been  from  Missouri  delighted  to  show  his  au- 
thority by  abusing  the  men  in  every  conceivable  man- 
ner. 

The  mortality  among  the  prisoners  was  frightful. 
Insufficient  food,  and  clothing,  no  bedding,  little 
medical  attention  and  the  dull  hopeless  existence  of 
prison  life  in  a  severe  climate  sapped  the  remaining 
vitality  of  the  men  and  they  died  by  the  score. 

Slow  starvation  among  a  lot  of  idle  men  gradual- 
ly robs  them  of  every  noble  instinct  and  transforms 
them  into  weak  but  ravenous  beasts.    It  was  curious 


44         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

but  tragic  to  hear  the  prisoners  recount  the  story 
daily  and  hourly  of  former  feasts  and  revive  the 
memory  of  every  ample  dinner  they  had  enjoyed  in 
the  past.  With  glowing  eyes  and  animated  faces 
they  delighted  to  tell  of  the  good  things  provided  by 
their  wives  and  mothers  in  the  halcyon  days  in  Dix- 
ie. The  subject  became  a  passion — a  frenzy,  and 
men  only  existed  to  remember  what  had  been. 

I  remember  the  case  of  a  once  handsome  man  who 
after  the  war  achieved  prominence  at  the  bar  in 
Georgia.  He  talked  bread,  bread,  bread  all  kinds 
of  bread,  and  what  a  great  lover  of  bread  he  was  un- 
til we  thought  he  had  gone  daft.  The  boys  nick- 
named him  "Bread." 

There  was  a  large  ditch  or  canal  across 
the  grounds  through  which  flowed  a  small 
sluggish  stream  that  was  always  more  or  less 
filthy.  Thousands  of  cray  fish  or  craw  fish  as  wc 
wont  to  call  them  bred  in  this  stream  and  the  men 
would  gather  them  for  the  purpose  of  making  soup. 
Every  dog,  cat  and  rat  also  had  to  run  for  his  life 
for  the  hungry  men  were  omnivorous. 

With  two  other  men  I  had  the  top  bunk  at  the 
North  end  on  the  East  side  of  one  of  the  barracks. 
The  passage  way  between  the  two  houses  was  cov^ 
ered  but  had  a  ground  floor.  The  gabled  end  was 
not  entirely  closed  up  and  the  cold  northwest  wind 
was  very  severe.  We  had  an  old  rubber  blanket  to 
spread  on  our  rough  plank  bed  and  two  other  thin 
hair  blankets  for  cover.  We  took  turns  as  to  sleep- 
ing in  the  middle  for  that  was  the  warmest  posi- 
tion. The  winter  was  a  very  cold  one,  snow  covering 
the  ground  more  than  forty  days  in  succession,  with 
two  or  more  blizzards  intervening.    On  one  of  these 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        45 

cold  nights  we  laid  down  to  try  to  sleep.  One  of 
my  companions  named  Searcy,  from  Eufaula,  Ala- 
bama, occupied  the  middle  while  I  was  on  the  outside 
most  exposed.  Searcy  was  over  medium  sized,  well 
proportioned  and  seemed  strong  and  vigorous.  Dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  night  he  talked  of  his  ad- 
ventures in  battle,  describing  how  he  had  shot  three 
men  in  a  certain  fight,  declaring  that  he  knew  he 
had  killed  them,  and  detailing  all  the  circumstances. 
He  expressed  regret  that  he  had  not  slain  more,  and 
bitterly  upbraided  the  enemy  for  the  treatment  he 
was  receiving,  denouncing  them  in  the  strongest  and 
most  vigorous  terms  of  which  he  was  capable.  He 
talked  on  while  we  his  two  bedfellows,  were  par 
tially  benumbed  with  cold  and  semi-conscious  from 
drowsiness.  He  finally  became  quiet  and  when  the 
morning  came  we  found  him  dead. 

It  was  astonishing  to  see  the  ingenuity  the  men 
developed.  With  their  pocket  knives  they  carved  all 
sorts  of  trinkets,  cups,  plates  and  puzzles  out  of 
wood  and  other  material.  Time  was  no  object  and 
with  infinite  patience  they  wrought  many  artistic 
articles  that  they  never  could  or  would  duplicate  out- 
side of  a  prison. 

The  guards  and  inspectors  and  such  visitors  as 
were  allowed  to  see  us  rebels  would  buy  many  of 
these  articles,  paying  a  mere  pittance  for  them,  and 
many  were  taken  by  hook  or  crook  and  never  paid 
for.  By  reason  of  this  traffic  more  or  less  currency 
of  the  "shinplaster"  kind  was  in  circulation,  besides 
some  of  the  prisoners  had  money  concealed  on  thei>' 
persons  when  captured  or  had  friends  on  the  outside 
who  managed  to  give  them  some. 

As  in  life  in  the  outside  world  among  these  three 


46         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

to  four  thousand  men  many  were  thrifty,  many 
barely  held  their  own,  and  others  exhibited  the  ex- 
tremes of  want  and  despair.  By  their  skill,  energy 
and  tact  a  considerable  number  managed  to  live 
fairly  well  and  made  a  little  money. 

A  sutler  store  was  one  of  the  institutions  of  the 
camp  and  we  could  spend  our  little  change  for  to- 
bacco, cakes,  bread,  can  goods  and  other  goods  not 
contrabrancl.  If  the  commander  found  that  the  men 
were  buying  too  much  for  their  comfort  he  forbade 
the  sale  for  a  while,  but  the  love  of  gain  would  pre- 
vail and  the  sutler  would  slyly  lay  in  stock  some 
more  of  the  forbidden  goods.  The  commandant  cf 
the  prison  wanted  the  men  deprived  of  everything 
that  would  mitigate  their  misery.  The  finger  ring 
industry  was  the  most  important  in  the  prisor. 
Along  with  this  trade  was  the  making  of  wat  li 
charms,  bracelets,  breastpins  and  other  jewelry. 

The  sutler  was  allowed  to  sell  us  large  guttaper- 
cha coat  buttons  at  five  cents  each.  These  we  would 
boil  in  tin  cups  until  they  resumed  their  original 
shape.  With  great  patience  the  worker  would  cut 
the  centre  out  and  fashion  it  into  a  ring.  Old  gold 
pens,  pieces  of  silver,  brass  buttons,  and  any  other 
bright  metal  was  used  in  making  sets  representing 
clasped  hands,  hearts  and  shields  and  other  designs 
which  were  nicely  engraved  and  highly  polished 
The  sets  were  riveted  in  with  pins  or  strips  of  meta1 
so  perfectly  that  the  fastenings  could  not  be  dectoc- 
ted.  We  used  sand  paper  and  a  greasy  cloth  to  pol- 
ish. With  my  two  bunk  companions  for  partners  T 
started  a  ring  factory.  These  men  were  Johnathan 
Smith,  farmer  and  blacksmith  and  R.  M.  Espy  ?. 
farmer,  both  from  Henry  county,  Alabama.     Smith 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        47 

was  somewhat  of  a  genius  at  tinkering-,  Espy  had 
no  skill  in  any  particular  line  and  I  was  an  untrain- 
ed boy  with  a  bent  toward  barter  and  some  tact  as 
a  salesman. 

Our  first  investment  was  for  two  rubber  buttons 
costing  ten  cents  which  amount  we  raised  by  selling 
a  part  of  our  rations  which  we  sorely  needed.  I 
cut  a  brass  button  from  my  old  coat  which  we  ham- 
mered out  on  an  old  piece  of  iron.  By  some  means 
we  bought  or  borrowed  a  ten  cent  file.  Smith  made 
two  rings,  Espy  and  I  assisting  in  cutting  and  pol- 
ishing. The  sets  were  clasped  hands  with  hearts  on 
either  side.  The  rings  were  well  shaped  and  the 
metal  shone  like  polished  gold.  I  willingly  acted  as 
salesman  and  found  a  purchaser  in  the  sergeant  of 
the  guard  at  ten  cents  each.  With  the  money  we 
purchased  more  buttons  and  made  more  rings. 

Smith  constructed  a  little  machine  that  cut  a  small 
ring  out  of  the  centre  of  the  button  thus  giving  us 
two  to  the  button.  The  small  ones  were  suitable  for 
children  and  were  made  as  carefully  as  the  larger 
ones.  Double  rings  for  men  were  made  by  riveting 
two  buttons  together  so  deftly  that  the  joint  could 
not  be  readily  detected.  All  of  the  metal  was  nicely 
engraved,  highly  polished  and  were  artistic  and 
beautiful. 

Smith  invented  boring  and  riveting  machines  and 
we  gradually  acquired  the  facilities  for  doing  the 
work  with  more  ease.  Now  and  then  a  particularly 
mean  official  would  come  along  and  destroy  all  the 
little  helps  that  a  factory  contained.  He  would  de- 
light in  smashing  everything  in  sight  and  we  learn- 
ed to  conceal  and  scatter  our  treasures  when  one 
came  in  sight. 


48         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAE  AND  AFTER 

There  were  so  many  rings  and  trinkets  made  and 
so  few  buyers  that  I  had  to  seek  a  market.  The 
prison  authorities  ran  wood  wagons  to  haul  our  fuel 
and  would  detail  men  to  go  outside  of  the  camp  to 
load  the  wagons  and  unload  on  return.  I  have  of- 
ten volunteered  to  work  all  day  lifting  very  heavy 
sticks  of  green  beach  wood  for  the  chance  to  sell  my 
stock  to  the  guards.  The  trip  was  about  a  mile  and 
the  grounds  was  covered  with  snow  and  my  clothes 
were  very  thin  but  I  braved  it  all  and  some  days  was 
not  rewarded  with  a  sale,  but  usually  sold  two  or 
three. 

Our  trade  in  rings  graudally  increased  and  a  short 
time,  before  we  were  released,  and  in  one  day  I  dis- 
posed of  twenty  dollars  worth,  but  it  was  the  ban- 
ner sale  of  the  season  and  a  riddance  of  accumulated 
stock. 

Sometime  the  sergeant  of  the  guard  would  ask 
me  to  allow  him  to  carry  the  rings  outside  to  show 
to  his  friends  or  to  the  people  of  the  city.  No  doubt 
they  were  in  demand  as  curiosities  or  relics  or  were 
purchased  by  kind  hearted  civilians  who  did  not 
object  to  aiding  in  this  way  the  suffering  prisoners. 
He  did  not  always  account  for  all  put  in  his  posses- 
sion and  at  times  paid  over  ridiculously  low  prices 
for  those  he  said  he  had  sold.  With  the  money  or 
shinplasters  obtained  by  our  handicraft  we  bought 
some  extra  rations  and  some  few  articles  for  our 
comfort. 

I  concealed  on  my  person  a  dozen  or  more  choice 
rings  when  we  were  released  and  brought  them  safe- 
ly to  Alabama.  They  were  objects  of  curiosity  and 
interest  to  my  friends  and  relatives  and  were  high- 
ly prized.     Unfortunately,  a  few  years  after  nearly 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        49 

all  of  them  were  stolen,  presumably  by  a  servant. 
A  small  one  is  yet  in  my  possession.  I  also  carved  a 
wooden  mug  with  a  relief  scroll  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion "Camp  Morton  Prison  1864,"  which  I  left  with 
relatives  in  Lee  county  Alabama.  It  was  much  ad- 
mired and  was  really  a  pretty  keepsake  but  unfor- 
tunately was  destroyed  when  their  house  was  burn- 
ed soon  after  the  close  of  the  war.  I  also  brought 
home  a  large  tin  cup,  more  than  a  quart  size  that  I 
had  used  during  my  campaign  experiences  as  a  gen- 
eral utility  cooking  vessel.  As  occasion  demanded 
it  was  a  soup  pot,  coffee  pot,  meat  pot  or  for  any  pur- 
pose almost  that  a  small  cook  stove  could  supply. 
The  coffee  was  of  burned  bread  crusts,  parched  corn 
or  wheat,  bran  or  sweet  potatoes.  This  highly  priz- 
ed old  friend  was  also  destroyed  in  a  fire  more  than 
thirty  years  after  the  war  had  closed. 

Tunneling  was  a  favorite  method  of  attempting 
to  escape  from  the  prison.  The  black  soil  of  the 
prison  enclosure  was  about  three  feet  deep  and  un- 
derneath was  a  thick  stratum  of  white  sand.  The 
men  would  commence  under  their  bunks  and  dig 
with  knives,  sticks  or  any  tool  they  could  improvise 
down  to  the  sand  and  then  scrape  out  a  tunnel  to- 
ward the  guard  wall.  The  dirt  was  carried  away  in 
their  pockets  or  they  would  tie  a  string  around  the 
bottom  of  the  legs  of  their  pants  and  partially  fill 
the  space  around  their  limbs  with  the  sand,  then 
walk  out  and  slowly  scatter  it  about  on  the  grounds 
so  as  not  to  attract  attention.  They  often  patiently 
worked  for  weeks  until  they  estimated  they  had 
run  their  shaft  outside  the  guard  wall,  usually  about 
fifty  yards,  and  await  a  dark  night  to  open  out  on 
the  outside.    A  number  of  men  escaped  in  this  way 


50         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

but  spies  and  traitors  made  it  dangerous  and  nearly 
every  eflort  made  during  the  last  six  months  of  our 
confinement  was  defeated  by  some  scoundrel  who 
would  betray  the  workers. 

In  one  or  more  instances  the  guards  would  allow 
the  prisoner  to  open  the  outside  end  of  the  tunnel 
and  shoot  him  down  as  he  emerged.  A  preconcert- 
ed movement  was  projected  for  a  general  escape. 
It  was  one  of  those  unaccountable  uprisings  that 
take  possession  of  men  without  a  head  or  immediate 
cause.  No  one  appeared  to  direct  but  it  was  whis- 
pered from  man  to  man  and  caused  great  suppress- 
ed excitement.  For  some  reason  it  was  reported 
that  most  of  the  guard  for  the  prison  had  been  with- 
drawn leaving  barely  sufficient  men  to  mount  the 
guard  on  the  walls.  It  was  believed  that  the  Confed- 
erates were  threatening  some  nearby  point  and  all 
their  men  were  needed  to  repel  them.  On  a  certain 
night  armed  with  rocks  and  sticks,  we  were,  aboul 
eight  o'clock  to  scale  the  east  wall,  rush  the  guard 
and  escape  to  the  country.  Hundreds  of  us  drifted 
in  the  direction  indicated.  We  were  desperate  and 
did  not  take  into  count  the  risk.  I  had  several  stones 
of  convenient  size  to  knock  a  guard  down  if  he  of- 
fered resistance.  The  few  sentinels  could  not  kill 
all  of  the  mob  and  we  could  get  over  before  others 
could  come  to  the  rescue.  Then  the  sentinels  on  the 
walk  high  up  on  the  walls  would  not  be  able  to  shoot 
often  or  accurately  with  hundreds  of  stones  being 
hurled  at  them.  We  were  in  striking  distance  when 
we  heard  the  bugle  calls  on  the  outside,  the  double 
quick  of  infantry,  the  unlimbering  of  artillery  and 
the  tramp  of  cavalry.  We  had  been  betrayed  and 
sullenly  returned  to  our  quarters. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        51 

Thirteen  of  our  men  escaped  one  day,  but  a  few 
of  them  were  afterwards  retaken.  A  detail  was 
sent  out  with  some  wagons  for  wood  about  two  miles 
from  camp.  This  detail  of  thirteen  was  guarded  b;y 
six  men.  By  some  means  a  signal  was  agreed  on 
and  at  a  favorable  opportunity  they  seized  the  guard, 
took  their  arms  and  made  off.  Afterwards  the  guard 
was  doubled  and  no  more  escapes  were  made  in  this 
way. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1864,  sometime 
in  November,  we  had  orders  to  move.  It  was  not 
made  known  to  us  that  we  were  to  be  exchanged  but 
to  be  sent  back  South  on  terms  never  fully  under- 
stood by  us.  Joyfully  we  boarded  the  freight  cars 
at  Indianapolis  and  set  out  for  the  long,  slow  jour- 
ney toward  Washington.  We  were  sent  down  the 
Potomac  and  passed  Fortress  Monroe,  Newport 
News  and  thence  up  the  James  river  to  our  lines  just 
below  Richmond. 

It  was  a  ragged,  emaciated  lot  of  men,  spiritless 
and  weak  from  long  confinement  and  ill  treatment 
that  once  more  entered  Dixie.  Our  heroic  fellow  sol- 
diers guarding  the  lines,  looked  on  us  with  tender 
compassion  for  they  were  in  dire  straits  themselves 
and  the  coming  collapse  of  Confederate  hopes  cast 
a  baleful  shadow  over  the  remnant  of  Lee's  once  in- 
vincible army.  They  appeared  to  us  as  men  who 
realized  that  their  fate  was  fixed  but  who  were  de- 
termined to  meet  the  consequences  without  an  ex- 
hibition of  fear. 

We  went  into  camp  for  a  time  but  whether  for 
want  of  equipment  or  in  compliance  with  terms  of 
release  we  were  dissmissed  subject  to  call.     The  or 
der  for  again  entering  ranks  never  came,  for  com- 


52         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

munications  were  cut  off  in  all  directions  and  the 
end  of  all  things  hoped  for  by  the  Confederates  was 
at  hand. 

My  only  brother,  W.  R.  Houghton  who  was  a 
gallant  soldier  of  the  Second  Georgia  regiment 
Longstreet's  corps,  attempted  to  send  me  money  at 
two  different  times  to  Camp  Morton  and  had  the  let- 
ters safely  mailed  within  the  enemy's  lines  but  it 
is  needless  to  say  I  never  received  the  robbed  let- 
ters. 

Dr.  John  A.  Wythe  an  eminent  physician  now  of 
New  York,  who  was  a  prisoner  also  in  Camp  Mor- 
ton, who  seems  to  have  had  some  influential  friends 
outside  the  prison,  wrote  a  series  of  articles  on  pris 
on  life  in  Camp  Morton  which  were  published  in  the 
Century  Magazine.  The  story  of  the  abuse,  cruel- 
ty, graft,  neglect,  starvation  and  mortality  connected 
with  the  conduct  and  management  of  that  prison 
makes  the  history  of  Andersonville  mild  in  compari- 
son when  the  resources  of  the  two  governments  are 
considered. 

These  articles  can  be  found  in  the  public  library 
of  Montgomery  and  should  be  read  by  every  South- 
erner when  the  story  of  Andersonville  prison  is 
quoted  as  a  reflection  on  the  Confederacy. 

COMMENTS  ON  OFFICERS 

I  never  saw  General  Beuregard  but  once  during 
the  war  and  that  was  shortly  after  the  first  battle 
of  Manassas  or  Bull  Run  as  the  Federals  call  the 
first  great  fight  of  the  war.  He  was  a  small  dark 
nervous,  soldierly  looking  man  whose  appearance  in- 
dicated French  extraction.  He  was  regarded  as  one 
of  the  coming  great  commanders  of  the  war  bat  sub- 
sequent events  did  not  add  to  his  first  reputation. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        53 

I  frequently  saw  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  who 
achieved  fame  at  the  battle  of  Manassas.  He  had  a 
clear  cut,  military  air,  rotund  and  of  medium  size. 
He  gave  out  the  impression  that  he  was  a  man  of 
quick  perception  and  thoroughly  self  possessed.  He 
wore  a  military  goatee  with  side  whiskers  which 
contributed  largely  to  his  soldierly  appearance.  His 
subsequent  career  proved  his  ability  as  a  tactician 
and  strategist  but  fate  denied  him  the  glory  of 
achieving  any  great  victory. 

General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  was  a  handsome,  dash- 
ing, spectacular  officer.  He  wore  a  broad  brimmed, 
heavily  plumed  hat  with  a  cockade  and  dressed  in  a 
fine  suit  of  Confederate  gray.  His  sword  and  belt, 
his  boots  and  other  equipments  were  bright  and 
clean.  He  had  long  reddish  brown  beard  and  mount- 
ed a  splendid  charger.  Altogether  he  was  a  pictur- 
esque commander  but  his  showy  appearance  made 
him  the  target  of  the  enemy.  He  was  a  brave  and 
gallant  officer  and  his  reputation  as  a  capable  com- 
mander increased  until  his  untimely  death. 

General  Trimble,  at  one  time  our  brigade  comman- 
der was  a  sturdy  but  slow  officer  with  great  tenaci- 
ty and  purpose.  He  handled  his  brigade  usually 
with  skill  and  effect.  He  was  not  personally  very 
striking  but  inspired  confidence  by  his  calmness  and 
exhibition  of  utter  fearlessness. 

General  E.  M.  Law  at  one  time  also  our  brigade 
commander  was  from  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  and  was 
small  of  statue  but  brave  and  alert.  He  usually 
kept  close  to  his  men  in  battle  and  was  considered 
a  reliable  officer. 

General  Longstreet,  our  corps  commander,  was  a 
large  heavy  set,  determined  looking  man  who  was 
regarded  as  slow  but  sure  and  possessed  the  confi- 


54         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

dence  of  his  men  and  the  army  generally.  He  was 
not  showy  or  dashing  nor  was  he  very  aggressive 
but  held  on  to  any  advantages  with  great  tenacity. 
Colonel  W.  C.  Oates  who  commanded  the  15th 
Alabama  regiment  for  some  time  was  a  handsome 
and  brave  leader.  He  was  regarded  by  many  as  too 
aggressive  and  ambitious  but  he  usually  was  well  to 
the  front  and  did  not  require  his  men  to  charge 
where  he  was  unwilling  to  share  the  common  danger. 

RECONSTRUCTION 

The  Southern  States  were  in  a  deplorable  condi- 
tion just  after  the  close  of  the  war.  The  widows,  or- 
phans and  the  aged  seemed  to  constitute  the  body  of 
the  population  of  hopeless  whites.  There  was  little 
left  in  a  material  way  except  the  land.  The  negroes 
or  freedmen  as  they  were  then  called  did  not  know 
what  to  do  with  their  newly  conferred  boon  of  en- 
franchisement. Their  former  masters  were  dead 
or  too  poor  to  provide  for  them.  Work  stock  were 
scarce  and  old  broken  down  army  horses  were  in 
great  demand  for  plow  purposes.  Hundreds  of  ne- 
groes drifted  about  aimlessly,  indisposed  to  work 
because  they  wished  to  enjoy  freedom  for  a  while 
without  restraint.  The  southern  people  knew  lit- 
tle else  than  farming  except  in  the  old  way  and  they 
went  to  work  to  get  a  living  from  the  soil  as  best 
they  could.  With  an  idle,  shiftless  horde  of  negroes 
turned  loose  it  was  natural  that  larceny  and  other 
crimes  increased  with  amazing  rapidity.  Pigs 
fowls,  cattle  and  farm  produce  had  to  be  vigilantly 
guarded.  Military  government  did  little  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  public  and  the  scum  of  both  armies 
preyed  on  the  helpless  and  scattered  inhabitants. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        55 

Then  came  the  crowning  infamy  of  negro  suffrage 
followed  by  carpet  bag  and  negro  rule.  The  adven- 
turers who  were  mostly  subordinates  and  hangers- 
on  of  the  northern  army  in  partnership  with  a  small 
following  of  southern  renegades,  took  advantage  of 
the  negro's  ignorance  and  with  the  aid  of  his  suf 
frage  filled  every  office,  state,  county  and  municipal 
where  there  was  a  prospect  of  plunder. 

The  so-called  elections  were  a  travesty  on  the 
right  of  suffrage.  Hordes  of  negroes,  like  a  great 
black,  portentous  cloud,  armed  with  old  shot  guns, 
knives,  sticks  and  other  weapons  would  encamp  the 
nights  before  an  election  on  the  hills  near  the  coun 
ty  sites,  build  bonfires,  sing,  dance  and  drink,  pre- 
paring for  the  election  on  the  morrow.  They  had 
been  industriously  drilled  into  believing  that  if  they 
did  not  vote  the  republican  ticket  they  would  be 
placed  back  in  slavery  or  deported  to  Africa. 

They  had  no  conception  of  the  value  of  their  votes 
or  the  purposes  of  government  but  obeyed  implicit- 
ly the  direction  of  their  white  bosses.  The  so  called 
elections  were  farces  but  backed  by  the  military 
arm  of  the  conquerors  the  southern  people  had  no 
recourse  but  submission. 

Military  authority  was  gradually  withdrawn  and 
the  white  people  began  to  assert  themselves  in  every- 
way possible.  They  had  success  in  localities  but  the 
era  of  carpet  bag  and  negro  rule  lasted  for  ten  years. 
Its  baneful  effects  will  be  felt  for  generations. 

In  order  to  break  up  this  infamous  domination  the 
southern  people  resorted  in  many  places  to  taking 
forcible  possession  of  the  ballot  boxes,  substitution 
and  destruction  of  ballots  and  many  other  devices. 
In  many  precincts  where  the  negroes  were  in  the 


56         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

majority  the  whites  would  not  open  the  polls  and 
they  did  not  have  sufficient  intelligence  to  conduct 
an  election  themselves.  However  they  never  failed 
to  turn  out  in  great  numbers  to  vote  or  try  to  vote. 
It  was  only  a  question  of  time  after  the  withdrawal 
of  military  authority  that  the  intelligent  white  man 
would  overcome  the  brutal  and  ignorant  black. 

There  is  no  parallel  in  history  to  the  condition  of 
the  Confederates  after  their  surrender.  Their  north- 
ern foes  after  subduing  them  by  force  of  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  deliberately  turned  loose  upon  them 
millions  of  half  civilized,  ignorant  aliens,  totally  un- 
fitted for  absorption  and  made  them  the  governing 
and  dominant  factors  over  their  prostrate  former 
foes.  It  was  more  diabolical  than  the  emancipation 
proclamation  during  hostilities  which  seemed  in- 
tended to  incite  insurrection  in  the  south  and  cause 
the  slaughter  of  the  women  and  children  while  their 
protectors  were  at  the  front  fighting  back  the  in- 
vaders of  their  country.  The  last  has  the  very  slight 
justification  as  a  war  measure ;  the  former  was  evolv- 
ed long  after  the  last  armed  foe  had  surrendered. 


Some  Recollections  of  Confederate  Camp  Life 

BY  W.  R.  HOUGHTON. 


I  propose  to  tell  something  of  the  life  of  the  Con- 
federate soldier  in  camp  and  on  the  march,  aside 
from  his  prowess  in  battle. 

Enlisted  in  April,  1861,  we  went  to  Savannah, 
thence  to  Tybee  Island,  where  we  drilled,  fought 
mosquitoes  and  fleas  for  two  months,  thence  tc 
Brunswick,  Ga.,  where  we  had  the  same  troubles, 
varied  by  an  outbreak  of  measles  and  mumps,  which 
played  havoc  with  the  companies  composed  of  men 
from  the  country.  On  this  account,  I  always  con- 
gratulate mothers  when  their  children  have  these 
complaints  in  infancy. 

We  had,  in  our  ranks,  men  of  every  calling,  sailors, 
soldiers  of  the  Mexican  war,  a  French  Zouave  who 
had  served  in  Algiers,  men  who  had  been  educated  in 
Europe,  travelers,  circus  clowns,  poets,  authors  and 
musicians.  It  was  at  first,  hard  to  get  accustomed 
to  camp  life.  Men  divided  into  messes,  according  to 
their  likes  and  dislikes,  but  soon  one  found  that  his 
best  friend  was  not  inclined  to  cut  wood,  fetch  water, 
make  a  fire  or  do  his  share  of  washing  the  tin  plates. 
Others  who  had  been  foppish  in  dress  at  home,  be- 
came careless  and  dirty,  and  others  used  much  pro- 
fanity and  vulgarity.  So  these  messes  in  four  years 
became  greatly  changed,  sometimes  by  death,  some- 
times by  weeding  out  objectionable  fellows. 

I  remember  one  man,  whose  ill-temper,  profanity 


58         TWO  BOYS  IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

and  obscenity  was  such  that  he  could  not  find  a  mess- 
mate who  would  stay  with  him.  Another  one  who 
knew  more  Shakespeare  than  any  man  I  ever  saw, 
was  so  lazy  and  dirty  that  he  messed  alone.  Another 
in  the  next  company,  an  old  bachelor  of  means  was 
so  objectionable  that  a  detail  of  men  cut  off  his  hair 
and  scrubbed  him,  not  very  lightly,  in  the  effort  to 
get  him  less  offensive.  But  long  campaigning,  dan- 
gers shared  together,  hungers  and  the  brotherhood 
of  comrades,  finally  made  many  of  those  who  messed 
together,  regard  each  other  with  a  love  like  Jona 
than  and  David,  passing  that  of  women.  However, 
it  was  the  rule  of  one  mess  to  the  close  of  the  war, 
that  during  our  meals,  however  taken,  standing  or 
sitting,  no  profanity  or  vulgarity  was  permitted. 

Several  of  the  company  had  their  musical  instru- 
ments until  forced  marches  caused  them  to  disap- 
pear, and  thus  we  had  music,  and  a  glee  club  gave 
excellent  vocal  entertainments  around  the  camp  fires 
or  under  the  trees,  but  these  too,  disappeared  in  the 
severe  campaigns.  At  first  we  had  chess,  checkers, 
cards  and  games,  but  after  the  first  year  all  games 
except  cards  were  abandoned.  I  have  seen  men 
playing  poker  on  a  knapsack  within  ten  steps  of  a 
preacher  discoursing  to  men  sitting  on  the  ground 
around  him. 

But  it  was  singular  that  the  men  would  not  carry 
a  pack  of  cards  into  battle.  When  the  cannon  be- 
gan in  front,  and  we  pressed  forward  to  form  in 
line  of  battle,  one  could  walk  a  long  distance  on 
cards  strewn  by  the  way,  and  I  have  never  seen  a 
pack  of  cards  on  one  of  the  thousands  of  dead,  either 
friend  or  foe,  I  saw  on  battlefields. 

The  members  of  card  clubs  will  take  note,  and 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        59 

they  are  sure  not  to  order  pockets  in  their  shrouds 
for  cards. 

Perhaps  nine-tenths  of  the  soldiers  played  some 
game  of  cards  and  about  three-fourths  indulged  fn 
gambling.  On  the  march  from  Culpepper,  Va.,  to 
Gettysburg,  we  marched  an  hour  and  rested  ten 
minutes,  with  an  hour's  rest  at  noon.  As  soon  as 
the  men  stacked  their  arms  for  the  midday  meal,  the 
gamblers  would  set  their  roulette,  chuckaluck  and 
faro  spreads,  which  they  had  lugged  under  the  burn- 
ing summer  sun.  Crowds  surrounded  the  ''lay  out" 
eagerly  reaching  over  the  shoulders  of  the  nearest 
to  lay  on  their  favorite  color  or  number  of  card 
bundles  of  Confederate  currency.  When  we  recoiled 
from  the  rock  bound  heights  of  Little  Round  Top  at 
Gettysburg,  leaving  so  many  gallant  fellows  cold  in 
death,  we  saw  no  gambling  on  our  sullen  retreat. 
At  Chambersburg,  I  lent  a  gambler  $20  who  said  he 
was  in  a  game.  He  was  captured  the  next  day  and 
kept  in  prison  a  long  time.  On  returning  from  fur- 
lough I  met  him  on  a  train  in  North  Carolina,  and 
after  embracing  me  with  every  appearance  of  joy, 
he  suddenly  thrust  his  hands  into  his  pocket  and 
handed  me  the  money.  There  are  some  debts  a 
gambler  feels  bound  to  pay.  No  doubt  the  spirit  of 
gambling  that  permeates  the  women's  clubs,  the  so- 
cial clubs,  and  infests  the  towns  with  games  and 
disreputable  characters,  owes  something  to  the  de- 
moralization of  war  times. 

The  blockade  runners  brought  over  fresh  supplies 
of  cards  which  were  generally  plentiful  in  camp. 

We  were  ordered  to  Richmond  in  July,  1861, 
which  caused  a  great  deal  of  joy  and  a  stag  dance. 
We  marched  through  streets,  thronged  with  peop^ 


60        TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

cheering  and  waving  handkerchiefs,  just  as  the  same 
Richmond  did  at  the  reunion  in  1896.  My  company 
had  more  baggage  then  than  the  brigade  had  in 
1863-4,  but  we  began  to  lose  "impedimenta"  at  this 
point.  We  went  to  Acquia  Creek  where  the  gun 
boats  shelled  us  from  afar,  which  caused  a  few  In- 
dians who  had  enlisted  with  us  to  desert.  Thence 
we  marched  to  Fairfax,  C.  H.,  in  the  sultry  August 
days,  a  trial  to  the  parlor  soldiers. 

A  fine  looking  lieutenant  of  a  north  Georgia  com- 
pany had  a  heavy  black  mustache  previous  to  this 
march,  but  before  it  ended,  one  side  of  his  adorn- 
ment was  white  as  snow,  because  his  hair  dye  was 
with  the  wagon  train  which  took  a  different  route. 
We  spent  the  fall  around  Centerville,  and  built  log 
huts,  with  no  floors  but  the  moist  earth,  daubed  the 
cracks  with  mud  and  covered  the  huts  with  boards 
split  out  of  very  refractory  oak. 

We  had  rations  and  clothing  in  abundance,  but 
the  mud  prevented  exercise.  Books  were  plentiful, 
and  the  folks  at  home  kept  us  supplied  with  good 
things. 

Here  we  saw  the  first  miltary  execution.  Three 
of  the  Louisana  Tigers  were  shot  for  insubordina- 
tion, and  our  command  was  among  those  marched 
out  to  witness  the  sad  scene. 

We  left  quarters  in  March  for  Yorktown,  and  our 
real  hardships  began.  Rations  were  often  scarce 
and  poor.  Coffee  had  been  issued  to  us,  but  now 
that  failed,  and  from  that  time  to  the  close  of  the 
war,  only  an  occasional  ration  of  coffee  was  given 
us  as  some  blockade  runner  would  bring  a  supply. 
The  men  first  tried  sassafras  tea,  but  as  a  steady 
diet,  it  proved  debilitating.  Parched  corn  meal,  po- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        61 

tatoes  and  other  substitutes  were  tried  for  the  re- 
maining three  years,  but  open  air  life  made  the  men 
long  for  their  coffee  and  the  writer  whilst  scout, 
never  failed  to  ransack  wagons  or  knapsacks  for 
coffee,  and  fared  much  better  than  the  men  in  the 
line  in  this  respect. 

CAMP  PESTS. 

In  the  trenches  at  dam  No.  1,  on  the  Warwick 
river,  near  Yorktown,  we  were  in  mud  and  water 
night  and  day  under  fire  from  the  enemy  and  almost 
incessant  rain,  and  some  unburied  Federals  lay  near 
us.  When  we  were  relieved  we  occupied  some  bark 
shelters  erected  by  other  troops,  and  had  our  first 
experience  with  body  lice,  that  pertinacious  pest  of 
all  armies.  For  years  it  was  common  around  the 
camp  fires  to  see  men  holding  their  shirts  above  the 
fire  to  rid  them  of  the  annoying  enemy,  and  one  sol- 
dier for  experiment,  placed  several  on  a  piece  of 
wood  and  laid  it  on  the  snow  for  the  night.  Of 
course,  the  creatures  were  frozen  stiff,  but  when 
placed  near  the  fire  next  morning,  they  were  soon 
lively  as  ever.  Nothing  but  fire  and  boiling  water 
could  kill  them.  The  boys  declared  that  they  had 
"I.  F.  W."  which  meant  "in  for  the  war,"  described 
on  their  backs  which  did  bear  some  marks.  The 
amount  of  fine  underwear  infested  by  these  pests 
given  to  the  flames  at  Yorktown,  would  stock  a  gents 
furnishing  store,  but  it  was  of  no  avail,  for  like  the 
poor,  they  were  always  with  the  soldiers  in  camp. 

For  the  first  year  each  company  wore  its  own  un- 
iform, and  some  were  of  fine  material,  but  now  the 
factory  jeans,  the  famous  Confederate  grey,  became 


62         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

a  necessity,  and  our  fine  jackets  were  exchanged 
for  long  tailed  frocks.  We  forgot  these  long  tails 
when  standing  near  the  fire,  and  most  of  them  got 
scorched,  so  that  we  had  forked-tail  coats,  and  leavn- 
ing  wisdom  by  this  experience  mostly  wore  jackets 
afterwards.  Sometimes  the  government  would  get 
a  supply  by  blockade  runners  of  fine  English  cloth 
and  we  would  get  good  uniforms,  almost  too  blue. 
I  remember  the  Jenkins,  S.  C,  brigade  clad  in  these 
new  uniforms,  created  a  sensation  when  it  appeared 
in  Bragg's  army  in  1863,  so  blue  did  they  appear  in 
the  distance  and  some  of  our  scouts  lost  their  lives 
by  mistaken  pickets.  The  writer  was  fired  upon  by 
his  own  friends  more  than  once  whilst  trying  to 
enter  the  picket  line. 

Salt  was  always  scarce  after  the  first  year.  Each 
man  treasured  a  little  in  a  box  tied  up  in  a  rag  in  his 
haversack,  but  in  damp  weather,  it  frequently  lost 
its  savor,  as  well  as  its  substance.  I  have  tried  gun 
powder  as  a  substitute,  but  do  not  approve  of  it. 

Cooking  utensils  were  plentiful  at  first.  After  a 
time  we  were  reduced  to  an  oven  and  frying  pan 
for  each  mess,  and  later  to  a  skillet  for  each  com- 
pany. When  the  wagon  drove  up,  each  company  had 
a  man  to  claim  its  skillet,  some  being  marked  with 
a  file,  and  frequently  disputes  as  to  ownership  oc- 
curred. Some  men  would  tie  a  frying  pan  or  skil- 
let to  his  knapsack,  hence  the  famous  expression, 
"tote  his  own  skillet"  so  well  known  in  one  Alabama 
district.  Halted  for  the  night  in  a  rain  in  the  wet 
woods,  one  would  wonder  how  he  could  light  a  fire. 
Soon  a  little  glimmer  appeared,  when  some  man  had 
obtained  a  little  dried  inner  bark  of  a  dead  tree, 
cedar  twigs  or  dry  leaves,  or  a  piece  of  newspaper, 


TWO  BOYS  IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        63 

the  little  flame  was  carefully  fed  with  pieces  of  dead 
twigs  until  it  became  a  fire,  then  a  hundred  hands 
bore  away  little  torches  of  twigs  to  become  the  par- 
ent of  other  camp  fires.  Some  would  gather  wood 
for  the  night,  some  take  the  canteens  and  get  water, 
and  with  the  cheerful  blaze,  would  arise  the  shouts 
of  laughter  and  the  hum  of  conversation.  The  meal, 
if  we  had  any,  being  over,  the  old  campaigner  would 
bathe  his  feet  in  cold  water,  rub  the  bottoms  with 
tallow,  if  he  could  get  it,  and  toast  them  before  the 
fire  in  order  to  harden  them  for  the  next  day's  tramp. 
Then  if  it  still  rained,  blankets,  oil  cloths,  or  little 
tent  flies  captured  from  the  foe  were  stretched  over 
poles,  and  the  men  would  crawl  under  them  and 
sleep  better  than  the  inmates  of  palaces.  "  have 
seen  men  who  had  lost  their  blankets  sleeping  on 
logs  or  fence  rails  by  the  fire,  whilst  snow  was  fall- 
ing. Two  men  usually  slept  together,  thus  having 
a  blanket  under  and  one  over  them.  When  one's 
comrade  was  killed  or  went  on  picket,  the  other  one 
had  to  fare  as  best  he  could.  The  night  before  we 
charged  Fort  Sanders  at  Knoxville,  was  bitterly  cold, 
and  snow  driven  by  a  fierce  wind  fell  at  intervals. 
As  we  lay  on  the  side  of  the  rocky  hill  facing  the 
fort,  the  shells  fell  among  the  rocks  and  made  us 
wakeful.  Just  before  day,  I  saw  the  captain  and 
first  lieutenant  of  the  next  company  fighting.  I  ran 
down,  and  assisted  by  main  force  in  separating 
them,  but  could  not  learn  the  cause  of  the  quarrel, 
until  we  formed  the  line  about  break  of  day,  when 
I  was  informed  it  was  for  "pulling  cover"  that  is, 
the  fellow  on  the  windward  side  was  angry  because 
the  other  fellow  got  too  much  cover.  But  the  men 
were  and  are  yet,  excellent  gentlemen,  and  one  lost 


64         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

a  leg  in  battle.  In  an  hour  after  this  little  fracas,  we 
had  charged  Fort  Sanders  and  Longstreet  lost  218 
dead  in  the  unavailing  assault. 

Whilst  on  the  sea  coast  or  camped  near  large 
streams,  our  facilities  for  bathing  were  good,  but 
often  the  men  had  no  means  of  getting  a  good  bath. 
I  have  cut  through  ice  four  inches  thick  with  an  axe 
and  bathed  in  Cub  Run,  and  while  in  the  trenches  at 
Petersburg  under  incessant  fire  night  and  day,  the 
only  water  we  used  came  at  night  in  canteens  from 
a  spring  reached  by  a  deep  ditch.  The  spring  still 
gushes  forth  its  pure  water,  remembered  only  be- 
cause it  quenched  our  thirst  and  laved  our  faces  and 
hands  for  it  was  used  for  no  other  purpose.  On  our 
last  retreat,  for  five  days,  many  of  us  never  bathed 
our  faces.  We  waded  streams,  but  like  Gideon's 
band,  we  never  stopped  and  after  the  surrender,  I 
gave  the  last  money  I  had  in  the  world  to  a  Fed- 
eral for  some  soft  soap  he  had  taken  from  some  farm 
house. 

Our  laundry  work  was  of  the  rudest.  We  had  six- 
teen negro  cooks  in  our  company  until  rations  got 
too  scarce  to  divide  with  so  many,  and  they  were  re- 
duced to  three.  On  forced  marches  these  were 
sometimes  captured,  but  always  escaped  and  return- 
ed to  us.  We  paid  them  to  wash  our  clothes,  but 
when  they  were  absent,  we  had  to  do  it  ourselves. 
Only  twice  did  I  attempt  the  job.  I  waded  out  to 
the  middle  of  a  swift  creek  rubbed  and  dipped  and 
finally  beat  the  clothing  with  a  rock,  but  was  a  fail- 
ure as  a  laundryman.  In  preference  I  wore  woolen 
underclothing  even  in  summer,  as  many  laborers  do, 
and  am  not  convinced  that  it  is  not  as  cool  and  heal- 
thy as  cotton  or  linen.  Few  men  and  officers  had  an 
entire  change  of  clothing  or  anything  but  a  change 


TWO  BOYS  IN   THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        65 

of  underclothes.  Knapsacks  were  abandoned  by  all 
but  a  few  and  the  extra  clothes  were  wrapped  in  a 
blanket;  this  was  rolled  up,  the  ends  tied  together 
and  worn  over  the  shoulder.  On  forced  marches  and 
desperate  charges  these  were  laid  aside  and  often 
lost.  I  have  seen  thousands  of  federal  knapsacks  in 
line  as  their  owners  fled.  The  federal  government 
furnished  them  with  a  new  supply,  ours  could  not. 

NOT  ALWAYS  GLOOMY. 

The  southern  soldiers  could  or  would  not  as  a  gen- 
eral rule  carry  the  regulation  knapsacks,  although 
we  often  captured  thousands.  Our  guns  weighed 
11  pounds,  ammunition  and  accoutrements  about 
six  pounds.  Then  a  haversack,  canteen  and  blan- 
ket about  the  same  so  each  had  to  bear  a  load  of 
about  twenty-three  pounds,  which  on  a  long  day's 
march  counted  heavily  as  the  straps  bound  one, 
about  the  breast.  There  were  some  men  who  car- 
ried a  full  knapsack  with  an  axe  or  hatchet  or  a 
skillet  tied  to  it,  and  these  men,  even  on  long 
marches,  were  generally  the  life  of  the  line.  They 
could  hallo,  sing,  jest,  relate  anecdotes  and  play 
pranks.  In  camp,  if  we  started  an  unfortunate 
squirrel  or  rabbit,  the  yells  and  shouts  of  the  men 
could  be  heard  a  long  distance,  and  often  would  be 
heard  the  remark,  "There  goes  Jackson  or  a  rab- 
bit." One  must  not  think  that  these  men  suffering 
so  many  hardships,  and  winning  so  many  desperate 
fights,  were  gloomy  and  sad  all  the  time,  or  even 
much  of  the  time.  There  was  merriment  and  fun, 
and  one  could  hear  jests  as  we  charged  the  enemy. 

Discipline,  as  it  goes  in  the  regular  army,  was  not 
enforced   after   the   first   year.     Officers   and   men 


66         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

messed  and  slept  together.  I  played  whist  in  the 
captain's  quarters  for  a  long  time.  The  first  year 
we  had  candles,  tallow  dips,  then  we  had  Confeder- 
ate candles,  made  by  dipping  a  long  wax  wick  until 
it  was  the  size  of  a  goose-quill.  This  was  wound  on  a 
stick  and  sent  to  us,  and  by  unwinding  a  foot 
of  it,  we  had  a  candle  that  lasted  until  more  was 
wound  off.  But  in  the  gloom  of  approaching  defeat 
in  the  winter  of  1864-5,  our  people  were  too  poor  to 
furnish  even  this  substitute.  But  the  men  built  them 
a  theater  of  logs  with  blankets  and  tent  flies  for 
drop  curtains,  and  with  these  poor  accessories,  but 
with  trained  actors  who  were  our  comrades,  got  up 
some  excellent  performances. 

The  worst  trial  besides  hunger  was  want  of  shoes. 
A  near  relative  a  sixteen-year-old  boy,  came  with  a 
different  regiment  to  Virginia  in  the  fall  of  '62.  I 
visited  him  and  found  him  barefooted.  Mark  Pow- 
ell of  Lowndes  was  guard  over  a  prisoner  to  be  tried 
by  a  court  martial  for  desertion.  Conveying  his 
prisoner  over  the  frosty  ground  to  the  house  where 
he  was  to  be  tried,  Colonel,  afterwards  Governor, 
O'Neil  of  Alabama,  came  in  and  returning  the  salute 
of  the  sentinel,  asked  how  the  man  came  to  be  bare- 
footed. The  reply  was  that  the  government  had  not 
supplied  him  and  he  had  no  money.  Colonel  O'Neil 
said,  "Here  Sentinel,  take  this  money  and  get  this 
man  a  pair  of  shoes.  I'll  be  d — d  if  I  can  try  a 
bare-footed  man  for  his  life  this  cold  morning  and  do 
him  justice."  It  is  needless  to  say,  the  man  was  ac- 
quitted. 

My  shoes  gave  out  at  Second  Manassas.  I  had  a 
long  walk  before  me  to  the  hospital  as  I  was  wound- 
ed, and  I  took  a  pair  off  a  dead  foe.     He  did  not 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        67 

need  them,  and  I  did.  On  the  march  to  Gettysburg 
I  wore  out  three  pairs  in  a  month.  The  leather  had 
been  hurriedly  tanned  and  the  shoes  came  to  pieces. 

KNOXVILLE  CAMPAIGN. 

On  the  East  Tennessee  campaign,  we  were  cut 
off  three  months  from  railroads,  mails  and  sup- 
plies. I  saw  hundreds  of  bare-footed  men  marching 
over  frozen  snow  near  Dandridge  on  the  French 
Broad  river,  and  saw  the  blood  from  their  feet  mark 
the  snow.  Sometimes  an  order  would  come  for  the 
barefooted  to  go  to  the  butcher's  pen.  A  man  would 
put  his  foot  on  the  hairy  side  of  a  fresh  cow  hide 
and  a  piece  heart-shaped  would  be  cut  out.  Then 
holes  were  cut  near  the  edges,  and  it  was  sewed  with 
thongs  of  the  same  material  over  his  feet.  They 
were  better  than  nothing  for  a  time,  but  when  near 
the  fire  they  shrank  amazingly,  and  when  wet  by  the 
rains,  they  became  too  large.  Yet  men  clad  in  this 
fashion  on  empty  stomachs,  drove  the  enemy,  and 
after  dark  we  felt  among  the  shucks  where  the  ene- 
my had  camped  and  picked  and  ate  raw  corn  that 
had  dropped  from  the  horses  mouths. 

Before  coming  to  the  Tennessee  army  I  had  for- 
tunately procured  a  pair  of  English  army  shoes, 
iron-heeled,  with  rows  of  iron  and  brass  tacks.  On 
a  scouting  expedition  I  captured  a  lot  of  horses  and 
saddles,  and  from  a  saddle  skirt  a  soldier  cobbler 
half  soled  my  shoes  with  maple  pegs  hardened  in  the 
camp  fire.  I  paid  him  with  the  other  skirt  for  the 
job. 

The  East  Tennessee  campaign  was  the  hardest  we 
ever  had.     Coarse  corn  meal  was  issued  to  us  at 


68         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Chattanooga.  It  would  hardly  stick  together  when 
baked,  and  in  a  haversack  in  rainy  weather  it  crum- 
bled. Then  little  filmy  threads  like  spider  webs  ap- 
peared in  the  bread.  On  the  march  to  Knoxville  we 
pushed  the  enemy  hard,  finding  abandoned  wagons, 
ammunition,  etc.,  along  the  road,  but  no  food.  It 
was  cold  and  a  quick  pursuit  for  a  whole  evening 
made  us  hungry,  but  we  had  not  a  mouthful  to  eat. 
Off  before  day  the  next  morning,  I  picked  up  in  the 
road  a  piece  of  cabbage  stalk,  which  constituted  my 
entire  sustenance  for  thirty-six  hours.  I  was  so  hun- 
gry that  I  felt  like  I  had  reverted  to  the  original 
type  of  savage  man,  and  would  have  stolen  bread 
from  a  baby,  if  there  had  been  bread  and  a  baby  to 
be  found.  The  country  had  been  harried  by  both 
armies,  and  the  secession  element  had  been  run  off, 
leaving  a  population  very  forbidding  in  appearance, 
and  all  the  boys  used  to  say  that  all  east  Tennessee 
lacked  of  being  hell  was  a  roof  over  it. 

Birmingham  has  some  excellent  citizens  who  lived 
in  that  section  but  owing  to  their  participation  in 
the  war,  were  not  permitted  to  return  there. 

After  the  failure  to  take  Knoxville,  we  marched 
northeast,  fought  a  bitter  little  skirmish  at  Bean's 
Station,  where  I  pulled  up  a  fence  post  and  in  the 
darkness  prized  out  of  the  frozen  ground  some  Irish 
potatoes,  my  only  food  for  that  day.  Crossing  the 
Holston,  we  marched  without  food  for  a  whole  day 
in  the  bitter  cold.  Jim  Dubose  of  my  company, 
nephew  to  General  Toombs,  raided  the  corn  which 
had  been  given  to  the  headquarters  horses.  Another 
procured  some  of  a  fat  hog  which  had  been  killed 
for  trying  to  bite  some  soldier.  I  volunteered  to  make 
the  corn  into  hominy  with  the  aid  of  hickory  ashes 
from  our  camp  fire,  the  only  luxury  we  had.    It  was 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        69 

an  all  night  job.  I  put  too  much  ashes  and  the  lye 
ate  the  skin  cff  the  corn.  Before  daylight  I  had  fried 
the  hominy  with  the  fat  pork,  and  woke  up  the  com- 
pany to  a  hearty  meal,  enough  for  all  and  it  enabled 
us  to  make  another  day's  march. 

The  winter  of  '63-4  at  Morristown,  Tenn.,  was 
peculiarly  hard.  We  had  no  huts,  rations  were  scant 
and  poor,  as  were  blankets,  clothing  and  shoes  We 
did  not  get  a  mail  for  three  months.  Plug  tobacco 
could  not  be  had,  and  "stingy  green"  the  unpressed 
leaf  raised  in  the  surrounding  country,  was  all  we 
had,  and  very  scarce.  We  could  hear  of  the  men  who 
would  leave  the  fire  and  go  behind  a  tree  to  take  a 
chew,  being  fearful  they  would  be  asked  to  divide. 
Making  our  way  towards  the  Virginia  line,  we  pass- 
ed through  the  home  of  Andy  Johnson,  and  the  place 
where  Morgan  was  killed.  Camped  near  this  place, 
three  days  rations  were  issued  to  us.  A  vote  was 
taken  whether  we  should  cook  and  eat  the  whole  at 
one  meal  or  dole  them  out.  I  voted  for  the  latter 
and  was  upbraided  for  my  want  of  trust  in  Provi- 
dence, and  the  majority  being  against  us,  we  ate  the 
whole  at  one  meal,  and  did  not  have  enough.  That 
night  we  heard  the  whistle  of  a  locomotive,  the  first 
in  months.  The  bridge  over  the  Holston  had  been  re- 
paired, a  train  came  in,  and  before  noon  a  large  box 
with  a  huge  side  of  bacon  and  a  bushel  of  cow-peas 
came  to  Tom  Coleman  from  his  father  in  Columbus, 
Ga.  Big  hearted  Tom  made  it  common  property  to 
the  company,  and  what  a  feast  we  had !  I  trust  Tom 
has  his  reward  in  the  beyond. 

DESTROY  LETTERS. 

Mail  facilities  were  not  very  good  most  of  the  war, 


70         TWO  BOYS  IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

especially  whilst  campaigning,  but  in  camp  we  had 
letters  pretty  regularly.  Paper  was  poor  and  hard 
to  get,  and  we  often  got  supplied  from  captured 
knapsacks.  I  noticed  that  southerners  seldom  car- 
ried their  letters  into  battle.  When  moving  into  line 
in  hearing  of  shells,  one  could  see  men  tearing  up 
precious  missives  from  loved  ones  at  home,  and  the 
way  was  littered  for  miles  with  the  fragments.  I 
am  inclined  to  think  this  was  also  common  to  the 
better  class  of  federal  soldiers,  as  the  letters  found 
in  their  knapsacks,  whilst  numerous,  I  counted  fifty- 
two  in  Asa  Frear's  at  Savage  station,  indicated  that 
the  writers  did  not  belong  to  the  cultivated  class,  but 
the  contrary. 

Of  course  there  was  nothing  wrong  about  taking 
property  on  the  battle  field  but  robbing  the  dead  was 
never  favored  by  most  soldiers.  Yet,  strange  to  say, 
almost  every  corpse  had  his  pockets  turned  out  very 
soon  after  he  fell.  In  the  tumult  of  a  charge  and 
retreat  and  return,  one  would  think  that  killing  and 
victory  would  be  the  supreme  thought  of  men,  yet  in 
a  very  few  minutes  after  a  charge  and  repulse,  I 
have  returned  over  the  ground  and  saw  where  the 
robbers  got  in  their  work,  and  neither  side  seemed 
to  have  been  exempt. 

At  Chickamauga  near  the  pond,  now  drained,  in 
front  of  the  Kelly  house,  lay  a  federal  breathing 
heavily,  but  insensible  from  a  bullet  in  the  head. 
We  camped  near  him  all  night  and  the  next  morning 
I  saw  a  dozen  or  more  Confederates  sitting  like 
vultures  over  their  expected  feast.  He  had  a  gold 
watch  chain  plainly  visible,  and  just  as  he  was  gasp- 
ing his  last,  a  man  reached  for  it,  took  out  the  watch 
saying,  "Well,  I  reckon  he  won't  need  this  any  more." 
The  others  had  been  waiting  for  the  man  to  die. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        71 

A  near  relative  in  a  northern  prison  wrote  me  that 
he  was  ragged  and  starving  and  to  send  him  some 
money.  Having  none,  I  determined  to  get  some  on 
the  next  battle  field,  and  took  a  pocketbook  from  a 
man  headless  by  reason  of  a  cannon  shot,  named 
John  W.  House,  of  Wheeling,  W.  Va.  I  wrote  to 
his  mother  and  sister  according  to  a  request  found  in 
the  book,  and  sent  the  letter  by  flag  of  truce,  but  I 
devoted  the  money  to  the  relative.  This,  and  taking 
the  shoes  from  a  dead  federal  at  Manassas,  com- 
pleted my  experience  in  such  matters.  Those  may 
condemn  who  will,  but  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, I  would  again  act  in  the  same  way,  and  I 
believe  they  would. 

At  Fredericksburg,  from  the  top  of  a  hill,  I  saw 
the  morning  sun  shining  brightly  over  some  hun- 
dreds of  dead  lying  on  the  frozen  ground  and  nearly 
all  stripped  of  clothing  taken  by  our  men  to  ward 
off  the  cold. 

To  supply  blankets,  the  people  at  home  cut  up  their 
carpets,  took  the  carpets  from  the  churches  and  sent 
them  to  us.  Under  such  covering  I  slept  the  winter 
of  '62-3.  One  ingenious  fellow  having  worn  out  his 
clothes,  made  himself  an  entire  suit  including  a  peak 
shaped  hat  or  cap  out  of  a  flaming  red  carpet,  with 
figures  on  it  so  large  that  it  took  his  whole  body  to 
display  one  rose.  When  we  left  quarters  it  was 
snowing  and  our  command  waited  by  the  roadside 
to  allow  his  regiment  to  pass,  and  as  he  appeared 
against  the  white  background,  the  shouts  that  went 
up  attested  the  admiration  for  his  genius.  It  took 
a  brave  man  to  stand  the  gibes  hurled  at  him. 

The  suceeding  winters  we  had  no  carpets  and  suf- 
fered much  discomfort  from  want  of  blankets. 


72         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

POLITE  PRISONER. 

I  was  wounded  at  Second  Manassas  and  my  com- 
rade, Oliver  Cromwell,  lost  his  blanket.  Staggering 
along  in  the  rain  the  following  night,  he  spied  a  form 
under  a  federal  blanket  by  the  roadside,  and  he  crept 
under  the  good  shelter,  for  these  blankets  turn  rain, 
and  spent  a  comfortable  night.  Awakened  by  the  pro- 
vost guard  the  next  morning,  he  found  that  he  had 
shared  the  blanket  with  a  dead  federal.  The  same 
night  weary  and  weak  from  the  loss  of  blood,  I  slept 
in  the  Chinn  house,  whilst  the  busy  surgeons  were 
amputating  limbs  in  the  yard.  A  wounded  captain 
was  placed  beside  me,  and  when  I  awoke  he  was 
dead. 

Next  morning  I  wandered  in  the  chilly  rain  look- 
ing at  the  dead  and  the  debris  of  the  battlefield.  I 
was  hungry  and  the  smell  of  so  much  blood  had  made 
me  sick.  Approaching  a  party  of  wounded  federals, 
who  had  on  oil  cloths,  they  were  very  polite,  they  had 
coffee  and  rations,  but  wounded  in  the  legs,  could 
get  no  water  or  fire.  I  had  feet  and  one  hand  so  I 
got  wood  and  water,  and  around  a  cheerful  fire,  we 
had  a  hearty  meal  and  friendly  talk. 

One,  a  polished  Pennsylvania  captain,  with  a 
crushed  ankle,  gave  me  his  card  and  told  me  if  ever  a 
prisoner  or  in  happier  days  a  visitor  to  his  state,  to 
call  on  him.  I  parted  with  him  with  regret  when  the 
long  line  of  white  ambulances  came  from  Washing- 
ington  for  him,  whilst  I  with  ill-fitting  shoes  taken 
from  a  dead  foe,  turned  in  the  opposite  direction  to 
trudge  through  the  mud  forty  miles  to  Culpepper, 
and  a  hospital. 

Our  men  generally  treated  prisoners  well.  I  never 
permitted  a  harsh  treatment  of  them  in  my  pres- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        73 

ence,  nor  did  others  to  my  knowledge.  On  two  oc- 
casions I  carried  water  to  wounded  federals  under 
a  heavy  fire,  and  I  have  repeatedly  seen  others  risk 
their  lives  to  aid  wounded  foes. 

Of  course  there  were  exceptions.  On  a  scout  I 
captured  a  German  who  could  not  speak  a  word  of 
our  language.  When  I  took  him  to  the  others  of 
my  party,  I  heard  the  click  of  a  gun  hammer,  and 
was  just  in  time  to  throw  up  the  rifle  of  a  Texas 
scout.  I  had  a  sharp  controversy  with  him,  and  af- 
terwards learned  that  his  brother's  wife,  with  an  in- 
fant of  three  weeks  had  been  driven  from  her  home 
in  far  away  Missouri  into  the  snow  and  without 
clothing  by  union  men  while  they  burned  her  house. 
She  and  the  infant  both  died,  and  it  was  said  the  two 
brothers  never  took  prisoners.  He  was  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  I  ever  saw,  and  daring  to  rashness. 
I  had  to  guard  that  prisoner,  and  shared  my  scant 
rations  with  him,  and  when  nightfall  came  he  had 
a  hundred  opportunities  to  escape,  but  each  time  I 
lost  him  among  the  wagon  trains,  he  would  find  me 
with  a  glad  cry.  If  he  did  not  understand  English 
he  understood  the  gesture  with  the  rifle  of  the  Tex- 
an. 

I  have  captured  many  of  these  creatures  whilst 
alone  on  a  scout.  Tempted  by  the  huge  bounty,  they 
were  gathered  by  the  thousands  in  foreign  coun- 
tries and  drilled  on  their  way  over,  even  in  the  har- 
bor of  Liverpool,  and  had  no  heart  in  the  war,  but 
they  could  defend  breatworks,  and  hold  forts.  Two 
of  us  captured  a  picket  post  of  fifteen  men,  killing 
one,  only  one,  and  he  a  Canadian,  could  speak  a  word 
of  English.  If  Stonewall  Jackson's  plan  for  raising 
the  black  flag  had  been  followed,  these  creatures 
would  not  have  crowded  the  union  armies.    I  saw  a 


74         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

provost  guard  take  $400  bounty  greenbacks  from  one 
of  these  men.  Many  of  these  cattle  surrendered  on 
slight  provocation,  or  deserted  to  lie  in  Confederate 
prisons,  where  by  eating  our  rations,  they  served 
more  effectually  than  with  arms,  and  now  most  of 
them  draw  pensions  and  glory  in  the  flag. 

The  northerners  managed  to  make  money  out  of 
every  war,  including  the  Spanish,  except  the  war 
of  1812  when  the  New  Englanders  tried  to  secede, 
but  the  histories  say  that  patriotism  urged  them  on 
in  1861-5,  when  the  fact  is  that  large  bounties  and 
bonds  mostly  sustained  the  fight. 

HARD  LINES. 

One  morning  in  1862,  I  was  sick  and  attended 
hospital  call  in  a  driving  snow.  The  surgeon  order- 
ed the  steward  to  give  me  a  dose,  which  taken  I  fell 
insensible  before  I  had  gone  a  dozen  yards.  I  was 
sent  to  the  church  at  Montpeller,  the  former  home 
of  President  Madison.  It  was  of  brick  with  floor 
of  the  same  material,  with  narrow  high-backed  pews, 
which  formed  our  only  beds.  The  fire  in  the  only 
stove  went  out,  and  to  prevent  freezing,  I  went  out 
in  the  snow  and  tore  palings  off  the  enclosure  of 
graves  and  renewed  the  fire.  From  a  wound  at  Mal- 
vern Hill  I  was  sent  to  the  hospital  in  Richmond, 
where  owing  to  the  immense  number  of  wounded, 
accommodations  were  little  better,  and  I  was  fur- 
loughed  home.  Wounded  again  at  Second  Manassas, 
I  was  sent  to  Charlottesville,  thence  to  Lynchburg, 
thence  to  Liberty,  now  Bedford  City,  Va.  Here  were 
about  2000  sick  and  wounded  with  a  clever  assist- 
ant, and  an  inhuman  surgeon.  Quartered  in  tobacco 
factories,  our  dining  room  was  on  the  ground  floor 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        75 

of  120  feet  in  length.  Our  supper  was  light  oread, 
"wasp  nest"  we  called  it,  and  sorghum  syrup,  and 
about  one-eighth  enough.  I  have  gone  in,  spread  my- 
self before  two  plates  set  one  over  the  other,  hid 
one  piece  of  bread  in  my  jacket,  and  ate  both  rations, 
then  getting  up  and  walking  further  down,  been  hus- 
tled into  a  seat  by  the  sergeant  and  repeated  the  per- 
formance. The  surgeon  refused  a  furlough  but 
through  Vice-President  Alex  Stephens,  I  got  one  and 
went  home  for  sixty  days.  Reporting  on  my  re- 
turn I  found  that  the  men,  incensed  because  the  sur- 
geon, using  all  the  delacacies  sent  for  the  sick  and 
giving  wine  parties  with  these  things,  had  waylaid 
him  one  night  as  he  came  out  of  the  house  where  he 
had  given  a  wine  supper,  and  nearly  killed  him  with 
brickbats.  This  was  the  extent  of  my  hospital  ex- 
perience. Once  in  1863  I  went  to  surgeon's  call  with 
a  sharp  pain  in  my  side  betokening  pneumonia.  The 
man  in  front  reported  the  same  symptoms.  We  were 
ordered  to  march,  as  the  surgeon  said  the  ambu- 
lances were  full  and  we  had  to  march  in  the  driving 
snow.  Before  noon  the  man  who  reported  sick  in 
front  of  me,  gave  one  gasp,  fell  in  the  snow  and  was 
dead.  At  3  P.  M.  we  waded  an  ice  laden  stream 
150  yards  wide  and  it  seemed  as  if  I  had  turned  to 
ice.  Going  into  the  wet  woods  to  camp,  the  boys 
said  I  would  die,  and  got  me  into  a  barn,  spread  our 
wet  blankets  on  the  clover,  one  getting  on  each  side 
of  me  and  covering  me  with  other  wet  blankets.  I 
awoke  next  morning  well  and  since  that  day  have 
had  faith  in  the  efficiency  of  a  "wet  pack." 

Many  were  the  expedients  used  to  get  out  of  reach 
of  bullets  by  the  "malingerers"  or  shirkers  of  duty. 
Some  shot  themselves,  but  the  powder  blown  into 
the  flesh  revealed  the  author  of  the  wound.    All  sorts 


76         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

of  diseases  were  simulated  and  complained  of.  The 
most  ingenious  was  invented  by  a  man  who  bound  a 
piece  of  plug  tabacco  under  his  arm  until  he  was 
as  yellow  as  gold,  including  the  whites  of  his  eyes. 
The  doctors  recommended  his  discharge  because  he 
was  in  the  last  stages  of  something  very  bad  they 
knew  not  what,  but  I  suppose  they  called  it  heart 
failure,  not  having  any  other  name. 

Now  and  then  the  doctors  would  make  a  raid  on 
the  hospital  and  drive  back  crowds  of  these  "play 
outs"  but  that  sort  of  a  man  never  makes  a  good 
soldier,  though  he  may  defend  breastworks,  as  al- 
most any  animal  will  fight  in  self-defense. 

I  had  two  furloughs  on  account  of  wounds,  one  so 
it  said  for  gallantry,  one  to  have  some  dental  work 
done,  and  one  for  a  day  whilst  en  route  to  Chicka- 
mauga.  Of  course,  much  was  made  of  the  returned 
soldier,  who  feasted  on  good  things,  and  was  a  kind 
of  hero.  I  did  not  envy  the  lot  of  the  few  young 
men  who  stayed  at  home  under  one  plea  or  another. 
The  girls  did  not  fail  on  every  occasion  to  let  them 
know  their  opinion  of  a  "stay  at  home,"  and  surely 
I  would  have  preferred  the  fire  of  the  enemy  to  the 
scorn  of  the  girls. 

Captain  Tom  Chaffin  of  Columbus,  Ga.,  never  had 
a  furlough,  never  swore  an  oath,  never  was  in  the 
hospital,  and  never  received  a  wound,  though  he  had 
the  seams  on  both  sides  just  below  his  pockets  cut 
out  at  Chickamauga,  and  his  sword  belt  was  shot  off, 
and  his  canteen  punctured  on  other  occasions.  In 
a  fight  he  always  got  a  gun,  and  if  coolness  accounted 
for  anything,  he  did  execution.  The  friendly  post 
oak  which  sheltered  us  at  Chickamauga,  was  just  his 
size  then,  but  it  is  larger  now.     Nearly  every  sol- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        77 

dier  got  one  or  more  wounds.  I  was  hit  seven  times, 
but  only  three  of  them  disabled  me  for  more  than  a 
few  minutes. 

Some  years  ago  I  sat  on  a  dummy  car  in  Birming- 
hrm,  with  six  others,  all  of  whom  had  been  wounded 
more  than  once,  and  three  of  them  five  times.  Two 
were  wearing  minnie  bullets  in  their  muscles. 

There  were  a  few  soldiers  who  never  were  in  a 
hospital,  never  had  a  furlough,  received  a  wound  or 
shirked  a  fight. 

At  first  each  regiment  had  a  chaplain  but  after  a 
time  there  was  not  enough  to  go  round.  Some  of 
the  devoted  men  were  very  attentive  to  the  sick  and 
wounded  and  preached  occasionally.  It  took  a  de- 
voted man  to  be  patient  in  constant  hearing  of  the 
profanity,  ribaldry  and  general  deviltry  of  camp 
life,  but  those  who  were  patient,  kind  and  loving  to 
the  men,  had  their  rewards  in  the  affection  and  re- 
spect of  the  soldiers.  Sometimes  we  could  hear  of 
great  revivals  in  other  parts  of  the  army,  but  I  never 
saw  one  in  Hood's  division.  I  think  men  got  to  lean 
towards  fatalism  after  awhile.  We  could  stand  on 
the  field  looking  down  into  the  peaceful,  sometimes 
smiling,  faces  of  dead  comrades,  so  full  of  life  an 
hour  before,  and  around  us,  not  a  tree  or  a  twig  the 
size  of  of  a  pencil  but  cut  or  barked  by  bullets,  and 
yet  we  had  charged  and  fought  and  stood  at  this 
very  spot  for  minutes  or  hours. 

We  could  but  wonder  why  we  were  left  and  the 
others  taken,  and  some  argued  like  the  Mohamme- 
dans, "It  is  kismet,  it  is  fate." 

Nevertheless,  most  of  these  same  men  who  return- 
ed home  became  pillars  in  the  church,  some  minis- 
ters.   One  of  the  most  daring  of  Longstreet's  scouts, 


78         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

profane  and  ribald  of  speech,  unable  to  write  his 
name  then,  is  now  a  useful  and  respected  minister 
of  the  gospel.  He  belonged  to  the  gallant  Fifteenth 
Alabama  of  glorious  memory. 

It  also  happened  that  the  war  was  fought  during 
the  transition  stage  from  the  smooth  bore  musket 
which  carried  100  yards  to  the  Enfield  rifle,  which 
was  dangerous  at  1000,  and  even  more,  and  the  re- 
peating rifle  was  also  used  by  the  federals.  Few  of 
our  Generals  except  Wilcox  and  Rhodes  had  the 
genius  to  meet  the  situation. 

These  organized  corps  of  sharp-shooters  drilled 
by  bugle  to  advance  or  retreat,  rally  or  charge  and 
to  take  advantage  of  trees,  rocks  or  the  conformation 
of  the  ground,  and  drawn  out  in  a  thin  skirmish  line, 
frequently  drove  solid  lines  of  battle  before  them, 
and  now  all  the  armies  of  the  great  powers  copy  the 
tactics  of  those  two  great  Alabama  soldiers. 

BADLY  LED. 

We  were  very  badly  led  at  Malvern  Hill.  In  two 
ranks  touching  shoulders  with  another  supporting 
line  just  in  the  rear,  we  marched  through  an,  open 
field  against  batteries  of  many  cannons,  supported 
by  men  armed  with  rifles.  A  bullet  which  struck 
a  front  man  at  close  range,  was  likely  to  kill  the 
man  in  the  rear.  Some  of  the  generals  got  excited, 
made  speeches  and,  as  might  be  expected,  lost  con- 
trol of  their  men.  Afterwards  the  men  learned  to 
fight  according  to  common  sense,  and  not  according 
to  antiquated  tactics  for  smooth  bore  arms.  We 
took  advantage  of  every  defense  or  obstacle,  and 
charged  by  rushes,  spreading  out  to  a  more  open  for- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        79 

mation.  After  we  were  put  in  position,  the  officers 
never  interfered  with  the  men  to  any  great  extent, 
and  the  men  knew  what  to  do,  and  generally  did  it. 
I  have  seen  a  little  pale  sergeant,  after  the  enemy's 
charge  was  repulsed,  leap  over  the  works  and  cry: 
"Charge  'em  boys,"  and  the  whole  line  went  with  a 
rush  that  was  irresistable.  One  of  my  regiment  was, 
by  court  martial,  convicted  of  stealing  some  fish 
hcoks  and  lines,  and  he  was  a  disgraced  man.  In 
the  first  battle  afterwards,  at  the  command  to  charge, 
he  took  his  hat  in  one  hand,  and  his  gun  in  the  other, 
being  very  fleet  and  yelling  like  an  Indian.  After 
that,  he  was  welcome  to  every  camp-fire,  and  to  a 
"chaw"  of  tobacco  from  every  man. 

The  winter  of  '64-5  was  very  sad.  We  did  not  get 
enough  to  eat  once  a  month.  The  men  grew  gaunt 
and  thin.  Clothing  and  blankets  were  tattered.  Fuel 
was  scarce,  and  we  cut  the  green  loblolly  pine  for  our 
fires.  We  were  on  the  Darbytown  road,  five  miles 
from  Richmond,  and  had  about  one  man  to  every 
8  yards  as  a  guard  for  the  line  of  fifty-five  miles  in 
length,  the  whole  army  numbering  about  45,000 
whilst  120,000  confronted  us,  superbly  armed,  cloth- 
ed and  fed  with  abundance. 

Sherman's  army  had  laid  waste  in  Georgia  and 
North  Alabama,  and  letters  came  telling  how  the 
loved  ones  at  home,  the  helpless  women  and  children, 
were  starving.  The  fire  in  the  rear  caused  many  a 
good  man  to  go  home  never  to  return.  In  whispers, 
with  a  tried  and  faithful  few,  we  would  discuss  our 
inability  to  hold  so  long  a  line,  and  supposed  and  de- 
termined that  when  the  grand  final  came,  we  of 
Lee's  army  would  go  down  like  Napoleon  at  Water- 
loo, in  a  blaze  of  glory,  not  forseeing  that  starvation 


80         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

on  the  last  retreat  would  so  cripple  the  army,  that 
although  Hood's  division  was  nearly  intact,  yet  only 
13,000  would  be  left  to  lay  down  their  arms.  The 
last  scene  at  Appomattox  is  imprinted  on  my  mem- 
ory. The  tears,  the  oaths,  the  hysterical,  insane 
laughter,  the  breaking  of  guns,  swords,  the  prayer 
for  death  from  men  who  had  toiled  and  sweated, 
starved  and  bled  for  a  cause  they  loved  better  than 
life. 

Most  of  us  anticipated  then  that  the  negro  would 
be  placed  to  rule  over  us,  but  we  did  not  foresee  the 
exceeding  sordid  malice  and  attempted  humiliation 
with  which  it  would  be  brought  about,  nor  did  we 
foresee  the  deviltry  by  which  money  would  be  wrung 
out  of  the  south  by  the  despicable  carpet-baggers, 
who  were  the  agents  of  the  victors. 

To  my  mind  the  greatest  battle  the  Confederate 
soldiers  ever  fought  was  not  on  bloody  fields,  but 
in  his  desolated  home,  when  for  years  he  maintained 
the  supremacy  of  his  race  against  the  sordid  politi- 
cians, the  fanatics  and  the  credulous  victors  of  the 
north,  who  sought,  whilst  robbing  him,  to  degrade 
him,  as  well  as  themselves,  by  injecting  into  our  po- 
litical system  four  millions  of  a  race  not  prepared 
for  the  experiment. 

The  Confederate  was  reared  in  the  belief  that  John 
Brown,  who  sought  to  murder  at  midnight  women 
and  children,  was  an  assassin  like  Guitteau.  The 
northern  men  agreed  with  us  that  the  latter  was  an 
assassin  but  worship  the  memory  of  the  former  as 
a  saint,  mostly  because  he  wanted  to  harm  only 
Southerners.  They  were  reared  that  way,  or  to  use 
an  expression  applied  to  the  president,  they  are  built 
that  way  and  cannot  help  it. 

We  have  long  been  accustomed  to  thinking  that  a 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER         81 

man  who  believes  the  negro  is  equal  to  himself,  is  the 
best  judge  of  the  matter,  and  it  is  best  to  accept  the 
situation,  but  meanwhile  keep  our  own  doorsteps 
clean  as  did  they  in  the  happy  days  of  Jerusalem. 

The  terrors  of  misrule,  reconstruction,  the  long 
years  of  negro  domination,  and  the  worse  rule  of 
thieving  carpet-baggers,  did  not  shake  the  stern  soul 
of  the  Confederate.  Not  one  in  a  thousand  deserted 
his  race  or  forsook  the  faith  of  his  forefathers,  and 
now  he  sees  the  fruit  of  his  labors,  and  his  faith  in 
states  redeemed  and  independent,  and  communities 
careless  of  the  opinions  of  the  worshippers  of  an 
inferior  race.  If  America  is  saved  from  the  fate  of 
San  Domingo  and  Jamaica,  the  salvation  came  by 
the  courage,  faith  and  persistence  of  the  Confeder- 
ate soldier  and  southern  women. 

CAMP  FARE. 

With  the  last  number  I  thought  I  had  naturally 
brought  these  recollections  to  a  close,  but  so  many 
people,  young  and  old,  have  expressed  a  desire  for 
more  of  the  experiences  that  otherwise  do  not  get 
into  history,  that  some  other  things  are  added. 

We  did  not  often  get  good  bread  in  camp.  In 
winter  quarters  '61-2,  we  took  it  by  turns  to  cook  a 
week  at  a  time,  and  we  often  had  light  rolls,  obtain- 
ing yeast  from  some  neighboring  house  and  "rais- 
ing" the  bread  by  the  fire  in  our  stick  and  mud  chim- 
neys. Afterwards  on  occasions  we  cooked  biscuits 
with  the  aid  of  soda  and  grease  fried  out  of  bacon. 
When  ovens  or  skillets  were  scarce  we  often  had  to 
wait  our  turn.  After  a  time  we  got  only  poor  beef 
and  flour,  and  our  bread  was  poor  indeed. 

In  the  spring  the  men  would  strip  the  bark  off  a 


82         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

hickory  or  poplar  and  make  a  beautiful  tray  in  which 
to  knead  the  flour  into  dough.  But  these  luxuries 
were  not  always  accessible,  and  I  have  seen  the  com- 
missary wagon  drive  up  in  dark  wet  woods,  after  a 
hard  day's  march,  and  the  flour  for  a  whole  com- 
pany would  be  dumped  on  an  oil  cloth  or  a  blanket. 
Then  with  cold  water  we  would  mix  the  flour,  often 
without  salt,  on  an  oil  cloth,  and  bake  in  ovens, 
skillets  or  frying  pans ;  or  if  these  were  not  avail- 
able, then  a  string  of  dough  would  be  wrapped 
around  a  ramrod  and  held  to  the  fire,  turning  often 
until  it  was  baked,  or  partially  baked.  The  only 
meal  we  had  in  the  five  days  preceding  Appomat- 
tox was  cooked  in  this  manner  from  flour  brought  in 
by  a  haggard,  weary  man  after  a  severe  skirmish  on 
a  scouting  expedition.  But  he  does  not  remember 
that  a  couple  of  drinks  of  "apple  jack"  taken  with 
Fitzhugh  Lee,  helped  him  to  carry  the  load  to  his 
famished  comrades.  General  Scott  said  that  the  fry- 
ing pan  killed  more  soldiers  than  Mexican  bullets, 
but  we  seemed  to  be  proof  against  its  bad  effects,  or 
perhaps  our  rations  were  so  scant  that  we  could  have 
devoured  the  food  raw  and  been  none  the  worse  for 
it.  Corn  meal  was  harder  to  manage  than  flour.  In 
a  newly  built  fire  on  the  damp  earth,  we  could  not 
bake  an  ash  cake,  nor  could  we  cook  corn  bread  on 
ramrods,  so  we  had  to  take  our  turn  waiting  for  the 
skillet.  We  preferred  bacon  to  beef,  because  we 
could  ea  the  former  raw  and  had  little  trouble  in 
preparing  it;  it  afforded  more  strength  and  fortified 
us  against  the  cold.  Sometimes  the  beef  was  so 
wretchedly  poor  that  it  was  hard  for  even  a  hungry 
man  to  eat  it.  We  would  chop  it  up  bones  and  all 
and  set  it  by  the  fire  to  simmer  all  night,  and  then 
parch  some  flour  in  the  frying  pan  to  make  gravy 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        83 

and  get  a  good  meal  out  of  very  poor  material.  If 
the  men  got  enough  to  eat  there  was  always  merri- 
ment, shouts  and  laughter,  but  if  rations  failed  the 
men  were  sullen  and  gloomy. 

Hence  young  wives  are  always  advised  by  mothers 
to  see  that  the  breadwinner  is  well  fed,  if  he  is  ex- 
pected to  stay  in  a  good  humor. 

I  feel  positive  that  Hood's  old  division  did  not  get 
one-half,  and  much  of  the  time  one  third,  enough  to 
eat  for  the  last  three  months  of  the  war,  whilst  we 
were  within  five  miles  of  Richmond.  Men  can  stand 
a  hungry  spell  for  a  short  while,  but  long  starvation 
will  sap  the  strength  of  any  army.  Our  men  grew 
gaunt,  lean  and  haggard.  Only  now  and  then  would 
a  scouting  trip  result  in  anything  that  could  be  con- 
verted into  Confederate  money,  and  the  writer  would 
get  off  to  Richmond  for  a  day.  If  he  visited  the  fa- 
mous "hole  in  the  wall"  and  got  a  measured  glass  of 
applejack  it  cost  $5.  A  dinner  at  the  Powhattan 
Exchange  or  American  cost  $10,  with  a  $2  tip  to  the 
waiter  for  an  extra  dish  or  two.  Then  he  had  a  nap 
on  the  grass  in  the  noble  capitol  square  free,  and  a 
ticket  to  the  new  theatre  $10  more.  Supper  was  not 
to  be  counted  in  to  a  man  who  had  a  dinner  that  day. 
After  the  theater  a  five  miles  tramp  to  the  lines,  to 
creep  between  blankets  that  had  seen  long  service, 
and  this  made  a  red  letter  day  long  to  be  remember- 
ed, and  not  one  man  in  five  hundred  had  this  chance 
to  enjoy  one  day's  surfeit  in  a  year. 

It  was  against  military  rules  to  sell  liquor  in  a 
camp  or  cities  like  Richmond  under  martial  law. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  war  men  would  bring  li- 
quor into  camp  in  their  gun  barrels,  a  convenient 
stopper  being  inserted  in  the  muzzle.     Then  an  in- 


84         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

nocent  looking  countryman  would  dirve  his  little  wa- 
gon in  with  vegetables  and  a  keg  of  butter,  in  which 
was  concealed  a  keg  of  apple  brandy.  The  sentries 
soon  broke  up  this  game,  and  then  men  would  come 
in  with  canteens  concealed  under  their  coats,  but  the 
occasions  when  men  could  drink  were  few  and  far 
between.  Early  in  1863  during  a  hard  snow,  Gen- 
eral Hood  rode  to  each  camp  fire,  spoke  a  few  words 
and  told  us  we  would  get  some  whisky  and  sugar 
soon.  It  came,  and  such  a  glorious  stew  we  had,  that 
when  I  awoke  the  next  morning,  the  piece  of  church 
carpet  covering  me  was  so  laden  with  snow  that  I 
could  hardly  turn  over.  One  morning  we  started 
for  Richmond  in  a  driving  snow  which  got  to  be 
eighteen  inches  deep,  and  only  four  paths  could  be 
seen  for  the  twenty-five  miles  as  we  made  our  way 
in  ranks  without  a  halt.  About  3  P.  M.  Sunday,  with 
bands  playing,  we  plowed  our  way  through  Frank- 
lin street,  the  fashionable  avenue  of  the  city.  Our 
hats,  beards,  shoulders,  blankets,  every  vantage  of 
rest  was  piled  with  snow,  and  the  citizens,  then  at 
dinner,  rushed  to  the  doors  and  windows,  some  cry- 
ing and  exclaiming.  Soon. those  dinner  tables  were 
cleared  of  everything,  and  pitchers  of  coffee,  tea, 
brandy  and  all  the  eatables  were  distributed  among 
those  grim  looking  veterans.  'Twould  make  the  fame 
of  a  painter  could  he  portray  that  scene  as  it  is  im- 
printed on  memory  now,  but  how  few  of  these  gal- 
lant sph:ts  are  left  to  recall  the  snow,  the  tears  of 
the  beautiful  women,  the  anxious  faces  of  the  gray 
haired  men,  and  the  wild  burst  of  music  from  the 
most  famous  band  of  Hood's  division  as  it  echoed 
from  the  stately  residences  on  the  finest  street  of 
Richmond,  dear  Richmond  on  the  James!     It  was 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        85 

five  miles  further  to  camp,  and  not  over  one  third 
of  my  company  got  there  that  night.  When  the  ex- 
citement of  the  music  gave  way,  one  became  weak, 
and  many  times  I  had  to  rest  before  we  got  to  the 
snowy  plain  where  we  halted.  We  cleared  away  a 
space,  throwing  the  snow  on  the  windward  side,  and 
unable  from  sheer  fatigue  to  stretch  a  tent,  built  a 
fire  and  again  came  rations  of  whisky  and  sugar  for 
the  whole  company,  which  those  present  appropri- 
ated, and  again  the  stew  made  us  sleep  like  the  right- 
eous. 

WADING  THE  POTOMAC. 

On  the  way  to  Gettysburg  we  waded  the  cold  and 
swollen  Potomac  at  Williamsport.  It  was  breast 
deep  and  over  half  a  mile  wide,  and  the  winding  road 
on  either  side  down  the  long  hills,  afforded  a  view  of 
near  ten  thousand  men  with  their  clothes  hung  on 
their  guns,  breasting  the  swift  current.  On  the  top 
of  the  hill  in  Maryland,  were  barrels  of  whisky  with 
the  heads  out,  from  which  each  man  was  expected  to 
take  a  gill,  but  those  who  had  them  filled  their  quart 
cups.  About  one  third  of  our  command,  including 
some  officers,  failed  to  get  to  camp  on  Pennsylvan- 
ia soil  that  night,  and  the  red  mud  on  their  uniforms 
attested  the  tangle  leg  quality  of  the  liquor.  Noth- 
ing was  done  about  this  breach  of  discipline,  and 
some  of  the  brave  fellows  were  left  under  the  rock 
bound  heights  at  Gettysburg. 

We  read  of  the  groans  and  cries  of  the  wounded  in 
battle,  but  in  reality  I  heard  little  of  the  sort.  Most 
of  the  dumb  animals  when  stricken  (your  dog  for  in- 
stance) may  cry  out  with  pain,  but  if  badly  hurt 
they  go  off  to  some  secluded  place  and  are  quiet.  It 


86         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

is  so  with  man.  Occasionally  one  heard  a  cry  of 
pain,  but  usually  these  were  reserved  until  fever  and 
delirium  set  in  at  the  hospital.  In  the  tumult  of  the 
charge  one  could  hear  but  little,  except  the  roar  of 
cannon,  musketry,  shouts  and  cheers.  In  breast- 
works I  have  seen  men  shot  down  by  sharp  shooters, 
and  there  was  maybe  a  groan  and  a  lifeless  lump  of 
clay  instead  of  a  comrade  full  of  life  and  vigor.  I 
have  studied  the  faces  of  friends  dead  on  the  field  a 
few  minutes,  or  hours  after  they  fell,  and  without 
exception  they  wore  a  peaceful  smile  or  an  express- 
ion of  repose,  from  which  so  far  as  one  can  see,  it 
must  be  better  to  leave  the  world  suddenly  than  to 
linger  in  agony  until  suffering  imprints  its  heavy 
lines  on  the  features.  But  there  was  one  sort  of  suf- 
fering that  appalled  the  stoutest.  At  Spottsylvania  a 
federal  was  shot  through  the  stomach  and  lay  be- 
tween the  lines  for  two  days,  groaning  and  begging 
for  water.  His  comrades  kept  up  an  incessant  fire 
and  did  not  allow  us  to  aid  him.  At  last,  some  of 
our  men  with  extreme  risk  crawled  out  and  brought 
him  over  to  our  works.  Mortification  had  set  in,  and 
he  was  as  dark  as  an  African.  He  was  given  a  drink 
of  water  and  died  in  a  minute  afterwards.  This  is 
only  one  instance  out  of  many  that  came  under  my 
observation  and  I  knew  men  who  carried  in  their 
pockets  a  lump  of  crude  opium  with  the  resolve  that 
should  like  fate  be  theirs  they  would  end  life  more 
painlessly. 

The  writer  knows  a  soldier,  whose  leg,  near  the 
ankle,  was  shattered  by  a  bullet  at  Gaines'  Mill.  He 
lay  three  days  where  he  fell,  and  got  a  piece  of  wood, 
which  with  his  knife  he  cut  into  splinters,  and  stuck 
them  m  the  ground  around  his  leg  as  a  setting.  I 
have  seen  him  since  in  full  run  on  a  deer  hunt.    Joe 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER         87 

Bethune  returning  after  his  wound  at  Chickamauga, 
accidentally  shot  himself  in  the  knee  joint  with  a 
self-cocking  pistol,  then  very  uncommon.  When  I 
went  to  see  him,  the  blood  and  oil  from  the  joint 
were  slowly  oozing  from  the  wound,  and  he  was 
gathering  handfuls  of  snow  and  applying  it  to  the 
hurt. 

Expressing  my  sorrow,  the  big  brave  fellow  burst 
into  a  boo-hoo  of  crying,  and  between  sobs:  "I 
wouldn't  mind  it,  but  the  d — d  playouts  at  home  will 
say  I  shot  myself  to  keep  out  of  the  war."  He  used 
the  same  pistol  to  keep  the  surgeons  from  amputa- 
ting his  leg,  and  now  walks  with  an  almost  imper- 
ceptible limp.  He  is  now  a  judge  of  United  States 
Court  in  California.  The  oldest  lawyer  in  this  city 
lay  on  the  ground  with  a  bullet  in  his  groin  for  days, 
and  a  comrade  has  cut  "WARD"  on  the  big  boulder 
where  he  got  the  wound  at  Gettysburg,  the  first  mon- 
ument to  a  Southerner  on  that  field.  He  relates  that 
whilst  in  the  hospital  near  the  town,  good  women 
ministering  to  all,  expressed  great  surprise  because 
they  never  heard  a  complaint  or  groan  from  his  peo- 
ple, whilst  their  people  were  just  the  opposite.  It 
may  be  that  the  Confederates  did  not  expect  much,  or 
perhaps  being  mostly  from  the  farms,  like  the  In- 
dians, they  were  stoical. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  man  came  to  our  regiment, 
who  said  that  he  knew  a  wound  would  kill  him.  At 
second  Manassas  a  bullet  took  from  one  finger  a 
piece  about  as  large  as  a  grain  of  corn,  and  the  man 
died  in  a  few  days.  The  pluck  in  a  man  made  the 
difference,  when  the  wound  was  not  necessarily  fa- 
tal. Jim  Johnson  lay  with  a  bullet  through  his  lungs 
at  Petersburg  until  the  surgeons  had  finished  with 


88         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

the  other  wounded,  and  then  five  of  the  wise  gath- 
ered about  him,  and  four  of  them  bet  the  other  a 
gallon  of  whiskey  that  he  would  die.  Jim  lived  to 
help  drink  the  whisky,  and  is  yet  an  excellent  citi- 
zen. 

Girard  Cook  of  Lowndes,  now  over  the  river,  re- 
lated that  at  Fredericksburg  he  lay  with  a  bullet 
through  his  lungs  on  the  frozen  ground  from  sun- 
down until  midnight.  The  last  searchers  had  aban- 
doned their  quest,  but  finally  he  saw  the  dim  light 
of  a  lantern  which  finally  approached.  He  could 
only  utter  faint  groans,  and  after  a  time  Colonel 
afterwards  Governor,  0  'Neil,  came  up  to  him,  gave 
him  from  his  canteen  a  stimulant,  and  remained  till 
help  to  bear  him  off  was  procured.  No  wonder  that 
O'Neil  could  not  be  defeated  before  the  people. 

Many  sad  scenes  we  saw,  but  the  most  pitiful  of 
all  were  the  boys,  those  of  fourteen  and  fifteen 
years,  as  they  lay  dead  on  the  field.  We  had  car- 
ried their  guns  on  the  march,  petted  them  in  rough 
soldier  fashion,  and  lightened  the  burdens  of  the  lit- 
tle heroes. 

It  was  pathetic,  too,  to  hear  in  the  still  hours  of 
the  night  the  screams  of  horses  with  one  or  more 
legs  shattered  by  cannon  shot.  Other  wounds  they 
bore  in  silence,  but  the  effort  to  stand  on  shivered 
bones  was  more  than  the  poor  creatures  could  bear. 
At  Dandridge,  Tenn.,  the  Eighth  Texas  cavalry  had 
charged  up  a  steep  hill,  the  surface  of  the  frozen 
ground  beinc  melted  by  the  sunshine.  Their  horses 
had  broken  through  the  frozen  crust  underneath  the 
surface  and  many  strewed  the  ground  and  in  an 
upright  position,  their  legs  buried  in  the  mud.  But 
their  master!  fook  the  fence  rail  breastworks,  and 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        89 

left  their  four-footed  servants,  mute  monuments  of 
their  obedience  even  unto  death. 

One  cannot  transfer  to  these  lines  the  gibes  and 
jests,  the  humor  and  the  fun  that  enlivened  these 
dark  scenes.  One  busied  himself  all  day  making  a 
parody  of  some  poetry  captured  in  the  last  battle, 
and  late  one  evening  as  we  were  trudging  through 
the  mud  and  rain,  gloomy,  tired,  hungry  and  sullen, 
some  one  suddenly  broke  out  in  a  stentorian  voice : 

"When  this  d — d  old  war  is  over, 
And  we  go  marching  home  again." 

The  gloom  was  gone  and  the  soldiers  laughed 
again.  And  in  the  line  of  battle,  when  the  shells 
and  bullets  seemed  to  be  just  scraping  our  backs  as 
we  lay  flat  on  the  ground,  one  sang  out:  "I  wish  I 
was  a  baby  and  a  gal  baby,  too,  so  I  wouldn't  have 
to  go  to  war."  The  nervous  tension  was  gone,  and 
that  fellow  inspired  the  regiment  in  the  charge 
which  followed.  There  were  some  men  whose  spir- 
its were  irrepressible.  They  were  the  life  of  the 
camp  and  march  and  they  now  go  to  all  the  cir- 
cus, minstrels  and  other  shows,  whilst  others  who 
heard  400  cannons  thunder  at  Gettysburg  saw  the 
panorama  of  second  Manassas,  the  slaughter  of 
Malvern  Hill  and  the  plunging  fire  at  Fredericks- 
burg, can  hardly  keep  awake  in  front  of  painted  ac- 
tors and  painted  scenery  that  stir  not  the  blood  as 
did  the  shouts  of  victory  in  the  days  of  old.  But 
the  others  get  the  most  out  of  life,  as  did  the  Roman 
who  said :     "Whilst  we  live,  let  us  live." 

I  love  to  go  to  the  reunions,  not  as  a  delegate,  for 
that  is  dull,  but  as  a  free  lance,  to  approach  and 
grasp  the  hands  of  any  man  wearing  a  badge,  to 


90         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

hear  his  hearty  "God  bless  you"  to  see  the  cheerful 
faces,  and  hear  them  tell  of  their  lot  since  the  war. 
At  Memphis,  one  man  said:  "I  landed  in  Texas 
with  my  wife  after  the  war  with  just  three  copper 
cents,  and  I've  got  'em  yet."  "Is  that  all  you've 
got?"  I  asked.  "No,  I  have  five  plantations,  have 
raised  six  children,  my  girls  are  well  married,  and 
me  and  the  best  wife  in  the  world  have  a  good  bank 
account  and  have  plenty  of  friends." 

The  tales  cne  hears  would  fill  a  volume,  and  most 
of  them  tell  of  the  rewards  of  patience,  fortitude  and 
courage  instilled  by  experience  in  the  war 

OLD  COMRADES  MEET. 

After  a  third  of  a  century  I  recognized  in  the 
throng  at  Atlanta  the  man  whose  lap  pillowed  my 
head  in  the  trenches  at  Petersburg,  after  the  con- 
cussion from  a  bullet,  deflected  by  the  silk  lining  of 
my  cap,  had  rendered  me  insensible,  and  I  can  yet 
hear  those  first  words  that  came  to  me  of  the  gen- 
tle voiced,  but  brave  and  true,  Henry  Bussey :  "Boys 
I  don't  believe  he's  killed."  The  good  old  comrade 
cried  when  he  embraced  me,  and  just  afterwards  I 
saw  his  old  captain  cry  in  turn  as  he  embraced  Hen- 
ry. 

The  youngster  in  search  of  a  new  sensation  at  the 
cheap  theater  or  card  party  has  never  had  the  depths 
of  his  heart  proved,  and  the  great  fountain  of  mem- 
ory stirred  like  these  comrades  of  old,  when  they 
meet  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years. 

We  built  a  great  many  miles  of  breastworks  dur- 
ing the  war.  From  Winchester  to  Petersburg,  Vir- 
ginia is  criss-crossed  with  lines  of  earthworks,  some 
of  v.hich  are  still  perfect,  and  will  be  for  a  century 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER         91 

to  come.  The  huge  first  and  second  lines  around 
Richmond  were  built  by  slaves  in  1862,  and  behind 
a  salient  in  the  outer  line  we  resisted  the  only  charge 
ever  made  against  us  behind  works.  No  doubt  they 
protected  us  against  attempts  to  charge  and  against 
sharpshooters  very  often,  but  it  was  our  luck  to  have 
to  charge  the  enemy  in  every  instance  but  one,  that 
I  can  now  recall.  Grant  nearly  succeeded  in  captur- 
ing Petersburg  in  June,  1864,  and  about  midnight 
after  a  hard  march,  we  lay  down  to  sleep  in  an  old 
field  east  of  the  city.  With  the  dawn,  came  the  sound 
of  musketry  and  the  whiz  of  bullets,  and  we  woke  to 
find  ourselves  in  a  bare  field  exposed  to  fire  from 
works  at  short  range,  although  in  front  of  us  was  a 
line  of  our  men  covered  by  works  too  low  to  protect 
us.  I  took  a  bayonet  for  a  pick,  and  a  tin  cup  for 
a  spade  and  commenced  burrowing,  throwing  up  the 
dirt  in  front.  Billy  Redd,  our  adjutant,  assisted  me, 
and  soon  all  the  line  were  working  like  beavers.  We 
lost  several  men  before  we  could  protect  ourselves. 
To  stand  up,  was  almost  sure  and  instant  death,  so 
our  work  was  done  lying  down.  Frequently  after 
a  hasty  march  we  were  ordered  to  build  breastworks, 
and  it  was  astonishing  how  quickly  without  spades 
we  could  protect  ourselves.  The  enemy  outnumber- 
ed us  toward  the  close  of  the  war  so  greatly  that  he 
could  overlap  us  on  both  flanks,  and  then  outnumber 
us  at  any  point.  But  he  was  dilligent  in  burrowing 
as  we,  and  when  Petersburg  fell,  there  were  over 
forty-five  miles  of  double  line  of  fortification  ex- 
tending from  the  north  to  Richmond  across  two  riv- 
ers to  a  long  distance  south  and  west  of  Petersburg, 
and  this  does  not  take  into  account  the  numerous 
double  lines,  the  forts  and  deserted  useless  works. 


92         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Grant  would  fortify  with  the  heaviest  kind  of  earth- 
works, replace  every  man  we  killed  by  a  foreigner 
and  move  around  the  end  of  our  line  with  real  Amer- 
ican troops  and  fortify  again.  This  is  why  we,  on 
the  Richmond  side  of  the  James,  were  so  scattered 
that,  each  man  defended  eight  yardsvof  the  line  un- 
til Grant  outflanked  us  forty-five  miles  away  at  Five 
Forks.  General  Lee,  reporting  to  the  secretary  of 
war  in  February,  1865,  said  his  men  had  been  fight- 
ing in  sleet  and  rain  without  meat  for  three  days, 
and  his  calvary  was  dispersed  in  search  of  forage. 
As  early  as  February  21,  1865,  General'Lee'report- 
ed  that  he  was  accumulating  supplies  in  the  line  of 
his  proposed  retreat  .which  did  riot  commence  until 
April  2,  but  many  oi"  us  be^fBrVmat  rfa"d  discussed 
around  our  camp  fires  the  impossibility  of  holding 
Richmond  against  four  to  one  who  had  fortified 
themselves  and  kept  building  breastworks  towards 
the  only  railroad  that  brought  us  the  scant  food  we 
got.  One  may  well  say  that  Grant's  spades  did  more 
to  take  Richmond  than  did  his  guns.  We  had  not 
the  men  to  spare  for  charging  forty  miles  of  works, 
nor  could  we  take  any  one  part  without  stripping 
our  own  line  of  its  defenders.  One  not  familiar  with 
these  lines  will  never  understand  how  much  labor 
they  cost.  Near  the  crater  there  was  a  front  line 
with  broad  ditch  for  fighting.  In  the  rear  of  this 
another  line  for  bringing  in  relief,  provisions,  and 
carrying  out  the  dead  and  wounded.  Then  there 
were  numerous  cross  ditches  and  banks  of  earth  call- 
ed traverses,  perpendicular  to  the  main  line  to  pre- 
vent enfialde  fire.  Although  not  required  of  me, 
for  over  a  month  I  took  part  in  defense  of  this  line. 
I  would  be  roused  up,  take  a  gun  fire  every  minute 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER         93 

or  two  in  the  darkness  toward  the  enemy  about  100 
yards  distant,  this  to  prevent  them  from  forming  a 
line  for  attack.  At  the  end  of  two  hours  I  would 
wake  up  the  next  man,  lie  down  in  the  ditch,  and  my 
relief  would  stand  with  one  foot  on  each  side  of  my 
head  and  fire  in  the  same  way  till  the  turn  of  the 
next  man  came.  This  sort  of  firing  did  not  prevent 
us  from  sleeping  soundly,  but  when  they  played  sky- 
ball  with  100-pouder  mortar  shells  we  were  wide 
awake  at  once.  Undertaking  to  dodge  one  sleek, 
black  shell  that  appeared  to  be  dropping  directly  on 
us  from  the  sky  one  day,  my  chin  came  in  contact 
wth  Prince  Anderson's  head,  and  both  of  us  were 
knocked  down  just  as  the  shell  exploded  burying  a 
piece  weighing  at  least  twenty  pounds  in  the  hard 
clay  within  a  foot  of  us.  Each  of  us  believed  for  an 
instant  that  we  were  wounded  by  the  shell.  One  of 
these  shells  fell  among  some  Virginia  artillerymen 
engaged  in  a  game  of  poker  within  a  few  yards  of 
us  and  killed  nine.  I  did  not  like  fighting  in  breast- 
works, but  in  the  open  where  one  can  look  his  enemy 
in  the  eyes  as  I  have  done  at  less  than  two  paces, 
one  can  feel  that  his  manhood  is  worth  something. 
A.  B.  Vandergrift  of  this  city  tells  something 
unique  in  the  way  of  fighting.  At  Rocky  Face  Ridge 
his  regiment  occupied  the  top  of  a  perpendicular 
ledge  overhanging  a  steep  hill  covered  with  large 
trees.  His  command  rolled  many  huge  rocks  to  the 
edge  of  the  precipice,  and  when  the  advancing  ene- 
my had  got  about  two-thirds  the  way  up  the  moun- 
tain, an  avalanche  of  great  boulders  was  discharged 
over  the  ledge  to  go  bounding,  crashing  and  thunder- 
ing among  the  astonished  federals.  Oak  trees  two 
feet  in  diameter  were  cut  down  as  if  they  were 
grass.     The  discomfitted  foe  fled  with  all  haste  and 


94         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

for  an  hour  the  valley  below  could  be  heard  their 
curses,  the  burden  of  which  was :  "D — n  you,  that 
is  no  fair  way  to  fight." 

One  morning  before  day,  six  of  us  went  out  and  lay 
in  the  ditch  of  an  old  set  of  works  on  the  Darbytown 
road,  where  Kautz's  cavalry  picketed  during  the  day, 
withdrawing  at  night.  We  knew  that  twenty-four 
cavalrymen  armed  with  Sharp's  carbines  and  pistols 
came  to  that  point  every  morning  leaving  three  of 
the  number  as  videttes.  But  on  this  particular  morn- 
ing it  was  horribly  cold,  and  the  officer  in  charge 
must  have  been  a  good  sort  of  fellow  as  he  let  the 
men  scatter  in  their  various  posts,  and  only  three 
came  directly  to  us,  and  they  were  in  a  sort  of  In- 
dian file.  They  first  stopped,  one  with  his  horse's  head 
within  six  feet  of  us  as  we  lay  in  the  ditch.  Being 
in  charge,  I  sprang  up  with  the  others,  and  with  lev 
elled  guns  ordered  him  to  surrender.  He  said,  "By 
God,  I'll  do  it."  and  came  to  the  ground  at  once. 
The  others  turned  and  galloped  off.  In  the  firing 
that  ensued,  one  of  them  was  shot  through  and  died 
that  day  in  his  camp.  We  went  there  to  meet  four 
to  one,  not  expecting  the  officer  in  command  to  allow 
his  men  to  scatter,  which  had  never  been  done  before 
within  our  knowledge.  The  cavalry  were  very  bit- 
ter about  it,  and  stuck  notices  on  the  trees  that  they 
would  not  spare  the  scouts  if  they  caught  us,  and  if 
we  took  prisoners  they  always  made  it  a  burden  of 
complaint.  Whilst  we  regretted  shooting  the  man  as 
he  fled,  and  that  there  were  only  three  instead  of 
twenty-four,  I  can  not  see  how  one  could  be  surprised 
at  the  event. 

The  calvary  horses  were  very  intelligent.  They 
could  discover  one's  approach  at  night  long  before 
their  masters.     One  night     John     Lindsay     and     I 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        95 

crawled  through  an  open  field,  the  thin  ice  breaking 
under  us,  to  capture  a  vidette  stationed  near  a  cedar 
Against  the  dim  starlit  sky  we  could  see  the  dark 
outline  of  the  horse  and  rider,  the  latter  with  the 
cape  of  his  overcoat  over  his  head  and  evidently  fast 
asleep.  The  horse  was  restless  and  moved  his  head 
up  and  down  to  inform  his  master  of  danger.  We 
got  within  fifteen  paces  and  Lindsay  wanted  to  shoot 
but  I  restrained  him,  and  we  called  out,  "Surrender!" 
Suddenly  his  horse  wheeled  off  in  a  gallop.  We  fired 
into  the  darkness,  but  never  got  our  man.  Cavalry- 
men have  often  told  me  that  they  depended  on  their 
horses  for  warning  them  of  the  approach  of  danger 
at  night.  I  used  to  wonder  what  time  horses  got  for 
sleep.  One  might  pass  hundreds  in  an  artillery  or 
cavalry  camp  at  almost  any  hour,  and  they  would  be 
eating,  stamping,  or  showing  some  signs  of  wake- 
fulness, but  I  discovered  that  about  an  hour  before 
day  they  were  generally  quiet,  some  resting  on  three 
legs,  the  toe  of  the  other  foot  just  touching  the 
ground,  and  cavalrymen  told  me  they  were  sleeping 
in  this  position.  I  have  slept  walking,  but  never 
could  sleep  standing.  One's  knees  give  way,  but  a 
horse  seems  to  be  better  gifted  in  this  respect. 

Kautz's  cavalry  were  good  fighters.  Sometimes 
when  we  stepped  out  of  a  thicket  and  demanded  sur- 
render, a  picket  would  raise  his  carbine  and  fire,  and 
he  would  have  to  be  killed.  We  were  ordered  now 
and  then  to  take  a  prisoner  in  order  to  get  informa- 
tion, and  if  the  unfortunate  fellow  selected  would 
not  surrender  it  was  kill  or  be  killed.  Keenan  of  the 
Fifteenth  Alabama  got  two  holes  shot  through  the 
slack  of  his  pants  trying  to  capture  a  vidette,  and 
though  brave  as  Caesar,  had  to  run  for  it,  as  the 


96         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

fellow  had  a  repeating  carbine.  Sometimes  they  were 
very  polite  and  have  shaken  their  canteens  at  me  as 
I  passed  on  a  scout. 

On  picket  below  Fredericksburg  we  would  rig  up 
a  board  with  sails  and  rudder  and  send  over  tobacco 
in  exchange  for  coffee  and  newspapers.  Above  the 
city  Wilcox's  men  would  wade  out  to  the  middle  of 
the  river  and  make  exchanges.  It  is  related  that 
three  yankees  were  having  a  good  chat  this  way  one 
time  and  their  line  being  relieved  they  were  reported 
as  deserters  and  sentenced  to  be  shot,  but  Loncoln 
set  aside  the  sentence  of  the  court  martial. 

On  the  right  at  Petersburg  men  would  fire  from 
their  picket  holes  for  hours,  when  some  man  wcild 
shout  in  a  loud  voice,  "Rest!"  Then  both  sides  would 
get  out  of  their  holes,  walk  around,  talk,  exchange 
papers  or  tobacco,  and  the  firing  of  a  gun  in  thp  air 
would  be  the  signal  for  them  to  disappear  and  the 
work  of  murder  would  again  commence. 

It  is  hard  to  believe  that  brave  and  seemingly 
clever  men  like  these  would  afterwards  use  the  ne- 
gro and  the  worse  carpetbagger  to  rob  and  oppress 
the  south.  Perhaps  the  politician,  the  stay  at  home, 
and  the  settlers  outvoted  them  and  the  soldiers  could 
not  stay  the  hand  of  the  thieving  crew.  There  <iever 
seemed  to  be  much  opposition  to  misrule  in  the  south 
till  every  state  government  was  bankrupt,  the  cities 
and  counties  in  the  same  condition  and  the  bad  crops 
of  '73  made  the  farmers  insolvent.  Then  it  was  that 
New  York  and  even  Massachusetts  found  they  could 
not  sell  their  goods  to  bankrupt  people,  and  in  1874. 
both  states  elected  a  majority  of  conservative  con- 
gressmen and  the  way  was  paved  for  the  withdraw- 
al of  the  troops  from  the  south,  and  the  tramp  of 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        97 

soldiers  was  no  longer  heard  in  legislative  halls.  The 
northerners  have  a  keen  eye  to  the  main  chance, 
which  in  this  case  meant  money,  and  the  darkey  is 
not  so  dear  to  him  when  cash  does  not  follow  that 
sort  of  philanthrophy. 

But  the  Confederate  has  known  all  the  time  that 
there  were  honest,  well  meaning  people  in  the  north, 
but  their  voices  could  not  be  heard  above  the  noisy 
clamor  of  greed  and  hate.  As  part  of  history  of  the 
times,  I  must  give  an  instance  or  two.  One  fairly 
intelligent  man  for  a  yankee  came  south  to  raise 
cottoa  when  it  was  forty  cents  a  pound,  educate  the 
poor,  ignorant  southerners  in  farming  and  incident- 
ally make  a  little  money  for  himself.  After  his  cot- 
ton blossomed  out  and  began  to  fruit,  he  wrote  a  lit- 
tle country  paper  in  his  far  northern  birthplace  that 
he  had,  discovered  one  important  fact  about  cotton 
which  the  southerners  did  not  know,  viz:  that  i 
white  cotton  bloom  never  yielded  fruit,  but  was  use- 
less. Every  southern  boy  knew  that  a  cotton  bloom 
is  white  the  first  day  it  opens,  has  little  red  veins  at 
sun  down,  and  is  red  the  next  day,  but  the  sublime 
superiority  of  this  man  never  led  him  to  ask  che 
small  darkey  about  this  little  fragment  of  botany. 

INCIDENT  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  ERA. 

Shortly  after  the  war,  old  man  Roebuck  came  from 
Ohio  to  Lowndes  county  and  purchased  from  a  d°. 
scendent  of  the  Clan  Cameron,  a  plantation  yet 
bearing  his  name,  and  it  is  said  the  canny  Scotch- 
man, McCall  by  name,  related  by  affinity  to  me,  madf 
a  good  trade  when  he  parted  with  the  land,  mules 
and  good  will  of  the  darkey  tenants,  who  ha:l  bem 


98         TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

his  slaves  all  their  lives.  Roebuck  was  a  gooi  Chris- 
tian, if  men  are  ever  such,  but  honestly  believed 
that  the  only  difference  between  a  white  man  and  a 
negro  was  in  the  color  of  their  skins,  wherein  we 
all  know  he  was  about  as  far  from  the  truth  as  the 
other  "God  and  morality"  man  was  about  the  cotton 
blooms.  But  Roebuck  came  down  to  shed  the  light 
of  the  gospel  on  poor  benighted  freedmen  and  south- 
ern whites,  teach  them  religion  by  example,  and  in- 
cidentally make  a  little  money  by  farming.  McCall 
agreed  to  stay  with  him  a  few  months  and  assist  as 
far  as  he  was  able,  in  showing  the  new  settler  how 
to  farm. 

Roebuck,  from  the  start  called  his  tenants  Brother 
Sam  and  Sister  Susan,  etc.,  and  had  prayer  meeting 
every  night,  and  the  darkey  brothers  and  sisters  did 
their  full  share  in  praying.  They  went  on  beautiful- 
ly and  Roebuck  was  reaping  the  reward  of  his  devo- 
tion to  the  colored  brother,  until  finally  when  spring 
plowing  got  under  way,  he  noticed  that  his  mules 
were  gaunt  and  poor,  although  bountifully  fed. 
When  he  complained,  Brother  McCall  told  him  to 
watch  the  big  trough  after  the  mules  were  fed  at 
night.  He  did  so,  and  came  with  a  woefully  injured 
air  and  said,  "Brother  McCall,  what  do  you  think?  I 
found  Brother  Sam  stealing  corn  from  my  poor 
mules."  Brother  McCall,  who  had  known  such 
things  for  forty  years,  only  said,  "You  don't  say  so?" 
Shortly  afterwards  he  became  downcast  and  heaving 
deep  sighs  with  the  tale  that  Sister  Susan  was  not 
as  chaste  as  Diana  of  old.  Brother  McCall  said, 
"you  don't  say  so?"  Thus,  because  Roebuck,  good, 
honest  Christian  as  he  was,  already  knew  so  much 
more  than  McCall,  the  latter  let  him  find  out  things 
for  himself.     He  farmed  the  year  through  and  the 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER        99 

darkeys  stole  his  corn  and  cotton  from  the  fields  at 
night,  so  that  the  old  man  lost  money,  and  worse 
than  all,  lost  faith  in  his  ability  to  change  the  leop 
ard's  spots,  so  that  he  sold  out  and  went  back  to  Ohio 
a  wiser  and  sadder  man. 

Secretary  Root  said  in  his  speech  to  the  Union 
League  that  negro  suffrage  was  a  failure,  and  when 
he  read  it  Brother  McCall,  no  doubt,  exclaimed,  "You 
don't  say  so?"  When  on  his  dying  bed  Roosevelt 
shall  confess  that  he  could  not  make  the  Mississippi 
river  run  up  hill,  nor  enforce  negro  social  equality 
in  the  south,  Brother  McCalPs  ghost  will  groan,  "You 
don't  say  so?"  Profound  ignorance,  not  innate  cus- 
sedness  is  at  the  bottom  of  many  prejudices.  No 
doubt,  we  have  ours,  but  we  do  not  try  to  force  them 
on  others,  but  let  them  alone. 

So  it  is  that  very  good  people  a  thousand  miles 
away  know  so  much  better  than  we  how  to  manage 
the  inferior  race.  The  fathers  resolved  that  the 
earth  belonged  to  the  saints,  and  forthwith  took 
their  muskets  and  shot  the  Indians  in  order  to  rob 
them  of  their  land,  and  the  poor  Indian  still  gets  the 
worst  of  every  bargain.  But  when  other  people  are 
not  altogether  angels  in  dealing  with  an  inferior  race 
suddenly  given  the  ballot,  under  new  and  untried 
conditions,  their  malevolence  knows  no  bounds  and 
the  southerner  is  pictured  as  the  worst  of  beings. 
I  am  very  high  tempered,  but  have  never  struck  a 
negro,  nor  have  I  seen  half  a  dozen  struck  since  the 
war  by  whites,  though  for  a  long  time  I  lived  where 
they  outnumbered  the  whites  five  to  one. 

HOW  I  BECAME  A  SCOUT 

The  campaign  had  dragged  its  slow,  toilsome  and 
murderous  length  from  the  Wilderness  to  Cold  Har- 


100      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

bor.  By  confronting  Lee's  army  with  a  force  double 
its  own,  fortified  behind  breastworks,  and  detaching 
a  force  to  threaten  our  right  flank,  Grant  had  ad- 
vanced crabwise,  with  a  loss  of  40,000  to  the  ground 
occupied  by  McClellan  without  a  struggle,  and  on 
June  9,  1864,  the  terrible  slaughter  of  second  Cold 
Harbor  had  taken  place.  We  lay  in  a  wheat  field 
behind  earthworks,  the  enemy's  pickets  being  about 
500  yards  in  front  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  which, 
just  to  the  left,  abruptly  terminated  so  that  two  sides 
of  the  woods  were  surrounded  by  the  wheat,  then  a 
few  inches  high. 

Shortly  after  daybreak,  one  of  the  pickets  came 
running  into  camp  calling  to  me,  stated  that  the  ene- 
my had  retreated  in  the  night,  and  there  was  a  force 
just  in  front  of  us  which  had  captured  John  Moore 
of  the  Buena  Vista  guard,  a  little  fellow  who  always 
wore  in  his  hat  a  buck  tail,  captured  from  the  fa- 
mous Pennsylvania  regiment.  The  picket  was  ex- 
cited and  insisted  that  I  ought  to  go  and  recapture 
Moore. 

I  had  done  a  little  amateur  scouting,  and  had  al- 
so been  detailed  for  that  duty  on  a  few  occasions, 
and  without  giving  much  thought  to  the  conse- 
quence, with  the  hope  of  some  fresh  excitement,  I 
got  an  Enfield  rifle,  and  failing  to  find  Colonel  Shep- 
herd, obtained  permission  from  Captain  Chaffin, 
who  was  second  in  command,  and  set  out.  Reaching 
our  pickets,  I  found  them  much  excited.  The  picket 
line  of  the  enemy  where  it  appeared  in  the  field  was 
deserted,  but  in  front  was  a  post  whose  number^ 
were  unknown,  and  the  woods  prevented  us  from 
seeing  the  line  on  the  right.  Dave  Moreland  of  the 
second  Georgia  volunteered  with  the  commander's 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      101 

permission  to  accompany  me,  and  we  set  out  to  the 
left,  going  aroung  the  angle  of  the  woods  and  pass- 
ing through  the  enemy's  deserted  picket  line.  After 
we  had  passed  the  deserted  picket  pits  some  40  paces 
being  about  80  yards  from  the  woods,  we  heard  to 
our  right  and  rear  shouts  of  "Halt!  Surrender!-' 
Looking  back  we  saw  a  number  of  bluecoats  with 
their  guns  leveled  at  us.  Some  of  them  got  behind 
trees  and  some  got  on  the  reverse  side  of  their  little 
breastworks,  while  the  rest  stood  squarely  up,  and 
pointing  their  guns  at  us,  commanded  us  to  come  in. 

To  say  the  least  of  it,  the  situation  was  appalling. 
I  had  made  up  my  mind  never  to  surrender,  and  as 
this  was  a  kind  of  volunteer  task  on  my  part,  with 
our  pickets,  whom  I  had  left  in  plain  view,  I  could 
not  think  of  giving  up.  The  scanty  wheat  was  not 
high  enough  to  afford  a  cover  if  I  lay  down,  and 
any  attempt  to  retreat  would  only  bring  a  storm  of 
bullets,  with  death  as  the  sure  result. 

All  these  things  flashed  over  me,  and  I  decided 
that  the  only  thing  possible  to  be  done  was  to  bluff 
the  enemy  and  fight  as  a  last  resort.  So  I  spoke  to 
Moreland  to  advance  with  me  against  the  blue  coats, 
and  facing  about,  we  began  to  move  toward  them, 
telling  them  to  lay  down  their  arms  or  they  would 
all  be  killed.  It  seemed  to  be  the  most  difficult  walk- 
ing I  ever  did.  Moreland,  stooping  down,  kept  at  my 
side  with  gun  in  position,  and  I  halooed  myself 
hoarse  ordering  our  adversaries  to  surrender.  I  or- 
dered Moreland  not  to  shoot,  for  I  believed  it  woulJ 
draw  their  fire  on  us,  in  which  case  we  would  have 
no  chance.  As  we  neared  them  there  seemed  to  be 
great  commotion  among  them,  some  running  from 
one  tree  to  another,  .but  some  stood  up  facing  us  all 


102      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

the  while.  A  tall,  heavy  built  Canadian  seemed  to 
be  the  leader,  and  he  swore  many  vigorous  oaths  a' 
us,  while  he  kept  ordering  us  to  throw  down  our 
guns ;  I  saw  he  was  the  man  most  to  be  dreaded.  The 
rest  moved  about  and  seemed  undecided,  but  thh 
man  never  wavered ;  keeping  his  eye  on  us  along  his 
leveled  gun,  he  continually  declared  he  would  shoot 
if  we  did  not  surrender,  and  I  vociferated  as  loudly, 
that  he  would  be  killed  if  he  did  not  give  up.  When 
we  approached  within  about  twenty  paces  of  the 
crowd,  it  seemed  matters  were  at  a  crisis.  I  have  an 
indistinct  recollection,  that  I  felt  myself  on  the  verge 
of  an  awful  precipice,  that  a  moment  more  and  T 
would  meet  death,  and  eternity  would  be  revealed. 
In  such  moments  men  live  fast  and  ideas  flit  past 
with  lightning-like  rapidity. 

TWO  CAPTURE  FOURTEEN. 

Just  then  Moreland's  nerves  must  have  given 
away.  He  fired  and  one  of  the  enemy  fell,  uttering 
loud  outcries  and  awful  groans.  It  proved  to  be  for 
tunate  for  us  that  Moreland  disobeyed  orders  in  fir- 
ing. I  took  advantage  of  it  at  once,  and  calling  to 
the  Canaaicv-i,  on  whom  I  kept  my  eyes  all  the  time 
"That  man's  blood  is  on  your  head!  Every  one  of 
you  will  be  killed!  Look  at  our  men  coming!  I 
walked  straight  up  to  him  and  seized  the  muzzle  of 
nis  rifle  with  my  left  hand,  while  I  put  the  muzzle  of 
my  gun  in  his  face  with  my  right.  He  was  a  brave 
man,  but  his  comrades,  all  foreigners,  who  could  not 
speak  English  did  not  support  him,  and  he  dashed  thp. 
butt  of  his  rifle  to  the  ground  with  an  oath,  and  his 
comrades  also  threw  down  their  arms.    In  a  moment 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      103 

we  had  thrown  the  captured  arms  into  a  pile,  and 
had  our  feet  on  them.  I  felt  like  a  man  who  had 
been  rescued  from  drowning.  The  joy  of  victory 
was  nothing;  the  escape  from  death  was  the  only 
thought.  We  took  fourteen  men  back  to  camp,  and 
left  one  dead.  Moreland  had  shot  him  through  the 
waist  belt,  and  the  poor  man's  cries  and  moans  had 
demoralized  his  comrades  more  than  our  appear- 
ance. 

It  turned  out  that  during  the  heavy  rain  storm  of 
the  previous  night,  the  pickets  had  been  freely  sup- 
plied with  liquor,  had  been  ordered  to  retreat,  but 
by  mistake  or  the  effects  of  the  liquor,  the  order  had 
never  reached  this  post  of  seventeen  men  under  the 
command  of  the  Canadian.  So  that  when  morning 
came  he  found  his  little  party  isolated.  He  had  sent 
off  two  of  his  men  with  Moore  after  his  capture,  and 
like  a  faithful  soldier,  was  still  holding  his  post 
when  we  came  up.  His  men  were  all  ignorant  Ger- 
mans, probably  confused  by  the  effects  of  the  liquor 
and  their  lonely  situation.  Had  they  been  as  brave 
as  the  Canadian,  this  tale  would  not  have  been  writ- 
ten, and  my  life  would  have  been  the  price  of  my 
folly.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  felt  fear  to  the  same  ex- 
tent, before  or  since,  as  on  that  occasion,  and  the 
conviction  that  I  had  caused  Moreland  to  be  in  such 
unnecessary  peril  made  it  all  the  worse. 

John  Moore  was  retaken  in  a  few  minutes,  and 
came  back  looking  very  foolish.  Of  course  many  of 
our  pickets  saw  the  affair,  and  when  Dave  Moreland 
and  I  returned  in  triumph,  each  carrying  a  load  of 
muskets  and  guarding  our  fourteen  prisoners,  our 
comrades  crowded  around  us.  To  them  the  practical 
results  were  that  two  men  had  surrounded  and  over- 
come fifteen  of  the  enemy.    Instead  of  being  punish- 


104      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ed  for  my  folly  I  was  complimented  and  a  few  days 
after  this  General  Longstreet  detailed  me  as  a  Scout. 

After  turning  our  prisoners  over  to  the  provost 
guard,  and  getting  breakfast,  I  was  ordered  to  fol- 
low Grant's  army,  while  our  own  moved  towards 
the  James  river. 

Falling  in  with  some  Texas  scouts,  we  followed 
the  Federals  several  miles  until  we  became  very 
weary.  While  resting  near  the  intersection  of  two 
country  roads,  I  saw  through  the  bushes  a  blue  uni- 
form and  going  toward  the  wearer  ordered  him  to 
surrender.  He  threw  down  his  gun  and  held  up  his 
hands,  and  I  told  him  to  come  to  me.  On  getting  back 
to  my  companions,  I  turned  to  ask  him  a  question 
and  found  he  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English. 
Directly  I  heard  the  click  of  a  rifle  behind  me,  and 
one  of  the  Texans,  with  an  oath,  told  me  to  stand 
aside.  I  turned  and  beheld  him  with  his  cocked  rifle 
leveled  at  the  breast  of  the  miserable  brute  I  had 
just  captured.  I  had  some  sharp  words  with  the 
Texan  before  I  could  make  him  desist  from  his  in- 
tention to  shoot  the  prisoner,  and  he  finally  told  me 
I  had  to  guard  him  back  to  camp,  which  I  was  com- 
pelled tf  do.  I  divided  my  scant  rations  of  raw  ba- 
con with  the  poor  creature,  and  overtaking  the 
wagon-train  of  Longstreet's  corps  about  dark,  I  fre- 
quently lost  my  man,  but  he  would  always  get  up 
with  me  and  make  his  presence  known  by  a  sort  of 
glad  exclamation  like  the  bark  of  a  dog.  Doubtless 
it  meant  something  in  German.  He  could  not  under- 
stand my  words,  but  he  understood  the  gestures  and 
motions  of  the  Texan  when  I  was  protecting  his  life. 

Late  at  night,  fatigued  beyond  measure,  I  found  a 
provost  guard,  and  by  the  dim  light  of  the  camp  fire, 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      105 

took  a  receipt  for  my  prisoner.  When  I  started  off 
and  the  guard  made  him  understand  by  putting  a 
bayonet  to  his  breast,  that  he  must  stay,  and  I  mo- 
tioned him  back,  the  disappointment  on  the  poor 
brute's  face,  at  parting  with  his  new  found  friend, 
made  a  picture  which  lingers  yet  in  memory. 

From  some  of  the  Texan's  friends,  I  afterwards 
learned  why  he  was  so  blood-thirsty.  His  brother, 
living  in  Missouri,  was  a  confederate  soldier,  and 
went  home  on  a  furlough  to  visit  his  young  wife  and 
his  first  born,  then  a  few  days  old.  It  was  the  dead 
of  winter  and  some  union  troops  attempted  to  cap- 
ture him.  He  escaped  to  the  woods  and  saw  the 
savage  brutes  drive  his  wife  without  clothing,  with 
her  infant  in  her  arms,  out  into  the  snow  and  burn 
his  home.  The  wife  and  child  died  from  exposure 
and  the  two  brothers'  hearts  were  steeled  against 
mercy,  and,  but  for  my  interference,  this  ignorant 
German  would  have  been  punished  for  the  crime  of 
others. 

Tempted  by  the  high  bounty,  he  came  to  murder, 
rob  and  destroy  a  people  who  had  never  harmed  him, 
of  whose  very  language  he  was  ignorant,  and,  while 
the  conduct  of  the  Texan  was  inexcusable,  yet  these 
things  are  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  times. 

I  often  met  this  Texan  afterwards,  but  as  our  sal- 
utation was  generally  by  the  name  of  our  respective 
states,  as  "Hello  Texas,"  I  cannot  remember  his 
name,  if  I  ever  knew  it.  He  was  tall,  lithe,  graceful 
and  comely  ,with  ruddy  cheeks,  laughing  eyes  and 
long  auburn  hair,  the  sort  of  man  over  whom  women 
rave  and  brave  men  dread  to  meet  in  combat.  While 
apparently  fearless  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  he  was 
ever  cautious  in  the  scout. 


106      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

INCIDENTS  ON  THE  FIELD. 

In  October,  1864,  the  enemy  made  a  demonstra- 
tion in  force  against  our  lines,  below  Richmond, 
which  led  to  some  sharp  fighting  and  also  sent  a 
force  to  turn  left  and  get  in  our  rear.  We  were 
hurried  out  in  the  direction  of  the  old  Seven  Pines 
battle  ground,  late  at  night?  and  early  next  morning 
I  was  ordered  to  the  front  to  ascertain  the  where- 
abouts of  the  enemy.  I  got  permission  for  Simmons, 
a  brave  little  fellow,  who  had  a  white  patch  in  the 
midst  of  his  coal  black  hair,  to  accompany  me,  and 
after  a  time  came  in  sight  of  the  Federal  cavalry  vi- 
dettes,  who  seemed  to  be  retreating.  We  followed 
them  through  the  old  field  till  we  came  to  some  fed- 
eral hospital  tents,  where  we  found  some  dead  and 
wounded  soldiers,  among  whom  was  a  black  negro 
with  his  thigh  broken  by  a  bullet. 

The  white  men  were  quite  friendly  in  their  man- 
ner, but'  this  impudent  fellow  asked,  "Why  the  d — d 
rebels  did  not  send  some  one  to  take  care  of  thg 
wounded  ?"  Simmons  retorted  m  a  way  that  showed 
he  had  no  Quaker  like  scrupples  about  swearing,  and 
appeared  co  be  willing  to  use  his  rifle  on  the  brute, 
but  on  my  intervention  let  him  alone.  I  noticed  that 
he  had  on  a  fine  pair  of  cavalry  boots,  almost  new, 
such  as  were  worth  about  $500  in  Confederate 
money.  Of  these  more  anon.  I  got  from  the  side  of 
a  dead  Michigan  Captain,  whose  name  I  think  was 
Peter  Bennett,  a  green,  patent  leath  sachel,  and 
near  by  were  some  wagons,  the  wheels  of  which  had 
been  cut  down,  loaded  with  hospital  stores.  We  found 
cases  of  Otard  brandy  labeled  1858,  barrels  of  crush- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER       107 

ed  loaf  sugar,  crackers,  packages  of  new  woolen  un- 
derclothing and  various  other  things.  We  had  been 
fasting  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  the  copious  drink 
of  brandy  each  of  us  took  as  the  first  thank  offering 
for  our  success,  had  a  considerable  effect  on  our 
empty  stomachs  as  well  as  our  heads.  We  took  a 
supply  of  clothing,  sugar,  and  a  dozen  bottles  of 
brandy  and  started  to  return.  We  soon  met  the  hand- 
some Texan  with  some  companions,  and  told  him  of 
the  good  things  to  be  found  further  in  front.  Our 
command  had  marched  off,  and  in  the  effort  to  over- 
take them  we  became  well  nigh  exhausted,  but  did 
not  fail  to  give  our  companions  an  opportunity  to 
drink  a  thank  offering  with  the  Otard.  In  the  calm 
which  followed  the  battle  I  took  the  opportunity  to 
go  to  Richmond  and  recruit  for  a  day.  Life  ap- 
peared to  be  a  short  affair  then,  and  as  we  did  not 
get  enough  to  eat  one  a  month  in  camps,  the  oppor- 
tunity to  go  to  the  city  and  fill  up  on  good  things  once 
more,  and  be  our  of  range  of  shot  and  shell,  afforded 
a  temptation  we  did  not  try  to  resist,  when  we  had  a 
supply  of  confederate  currency.  Dinner  at  the  Amer- 
ican hotel  was  $20,  a  drink  of  apple  brandy  was  $5, 
and  a  theater  ticket  was  $10.  I  took  all  the  rounds 
and  just  after  getting  seated  in  the  beautiful  new 
theater,  I  saw  all  my  Texas  friends  come  in.  They 
sat  in  the  row  next  in  the  rear  of  me.  After  exchang- 
ing greetings  I  asked :  "Boys,  did  you  get  any  sack- 
ing the  other  day?"  Receiving  an  affirmative  reply 
I  asked  if  they  saw  the  boots  on  the  wounded  negro. 
The  handsome  Texan  threw  his  foot  encased  in  those 
very  boots,  on  the  top  of  the  seat  beside  my  head 
remarking:  "Yes  by  G — d,  here  they  are."  In  ans- 
wer to  my  wondering  inquiry  as  to  how  he  got  them 
off,  he  said  that  he  put  his  foot  against  the  man  and 


108      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

jerked  them  off,  and  the  negro  could  be  heard  yelling 
a  mile,  which  was  not  to  be  wondered  at.  It  is  all 
sad,  but  it  is  history. 

Afterwards,  on  a  scout,  about  a  dozen  federal  cav- 
alry suddenly  charged  on  this  Texan  and  four  com- 
panions. They  stood  their  ground  in  the  road,  and 
my  handsome  friend  got  a  saber  cut  on  the  head  and 
a  horse  knocked  him  into  the  corner  of  the  fence. 
His  thick  wool  hat  and  the  fortunate  blow  from  the 
horse's  shoulder  doubtless  saved  his  life.  He  picked 
himself  up  and  was  ready  for  the  fray  again  within 
the  time  that  a  modern  dude  could  brush  his  hair 
or  wax  his  moustache. 

The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  a  day  or  two  before 
the  surrender.  Famine  had  pinched  his  handsome 
features,  but  his  bearing,  when,  while  on  a  scout, 
far  from  supporting  force,  a  handful  of  us,  sallied 
into  the  woods  to  engage  unknown  numbers,  was 
as  gay  as  if  he  was  entering  a  ball  room. 

The  little  skirmish  was  soon  over,  and  in  a  short 
while,  we  came  to  a  fine  country  mansion.  General 
(afterwards  governor)  Fitzhugh  Lee  was  sitting 
cross-leg  -ed  on  the  lawn  with  an  empty  pitcher  in 
front  of  nim.  He  had  the  pitcher  refilled  with  apple 
juice  from  the  farmer's  cellar  for  our  benefit,  and 
there  under  the  noble  oaks,  as  the  darkness  was  fall- 
ing on  us,  doubly  dark  because  the  heavy  clouds  of 
defeat  were  lowering  over  our  devoted  army,  we 
drank  a  merry  round  from  the  Virginian's  apple 
brandy,  and  separated  to  meet  no  more,  each  to  join 
our  respective  commands,  then  on  the  march. 

Gallant  Texan!  I  seem  to  behold  your  Apollo-like 
form,  and  look  into  the  depths  of  your  laughing  blue 
eyes. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      109 

I  came  to  a  mill  on  a  creek  near  by,  and  our  cav- 
alry were  helping  themselves  to  flour.  As  my  com- 
rades of  the  line  were  reduced  to  worse  straits  for 
food  than  myself,  I  took  about  thirty  pounds  in  a 
sack  and  started  off  in  the  darkness,  crossing  the 
creek  on  a  log,  and  I  wonder  how  I  did  it,  consider- 
ing the  fatigue,  the  heavy  load  I  bore,  the  hunger  and 
the  brandy.  I  ascended  a  hill  and  came  to  a  field. 
As  I  approached  within  five  paces  of  the  woods  on 
the  far  side,  two  men  suddenly  arose  up  from  the 
edge  of  the  bushes,  with  guns  leveled  at  my  breast, 
demanded  my  surrender.  I  had  determined  never  to 
surrender,  but  the  situation  was  not  cheerful.  Under 
such  circumstances  men  think  fast  and  in  a  flash  it 
occurred  to  me  that  my  captors,  being  as  weary  as 
myself,  I  could  escape  from  them  or  overcome  them 
in  the  night.  So  I  surrendered,  and  immediately 
asked  what  command  my  captors  belonged  to,  and 
was  overjoyed  to  hear  the  reply  "Longstreet's  corps." 

I  engaged  one  of  them,  with  the  promise  of  five 
pounds  of  flour,  to  carry  the  sack  to  my  command, 
which,  after  a  weary  march,  we  overtook,  and  the 
next  morning  my  company  had  bread,  made  from  the 
flour,  without  lard,  and  baked  on  ramrods  and  pieces 
of  wood.  Two  days  more,  and  our  battle  flags  were 
furled  forever  at  Appomattox. 

FORT  SECOND  GEORGIA. 

I  had  never  sacked  a  soldier  dead  or  alive.  True, 
after  I  was  wounded  at  second  Manassas,  I  had  re- 
placed my  shoes,  worn  out  by  that  long  march 
through  Thoroughfare  gap  to  the  relief  of  Stonewall 
Jackson,  with  a  pair  of  shoes  taken  from  the  feet  of 


110      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

a  dead  enemy,  but  that  was  a  necessity,  and  I  never 
felt  any  pangs  of  remorse  for  the  act.  There  are  in 
all  armies  men  who  rob — sack  is  the  soldier's  word 
for  it — the  dead,  the  wounded  and  the  living,  some- 
times being  careless  whether  they  are  friend  or  foe. 
I  have  seen  gold  watches,  money  and  other  valuables, 
which  were  said  to  have  been  taken  from  the  dead, 
and  on  one  occasion  I  had  seen  a  prisoner,  who  said 
he  was  a  bounty  jumper,  relieved  of  a  belt  contain- 
ing over  $400  in  greenbacks.  I  had  captured  him 
while  alone  on  a  scout,  and  had  guarded  him  two 
miles  to  camp,  and  when  I  turned  him  over  to  the 
provost  guard,  the  sergeant,  Lynch  by  name,  cooly 
went  through  him  with  results  very  gratifying  to  the 
Confederates,  but  most  vexatious  to  the  gentleman 
in  blue. 

I  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  idea  that  it  was 
not  in  accord  with  the  character  of  a  chivalrous 
southern  soldier  and  gentleman  to  be  guilty  of  rob- 
bing the  dead.  It  was  with  pain  and  sorrow  that  I 
was  forced  to  confess  that  we  had  in  the  ranks  of 
our  army  ghouls  and  vandals  capable  of  such  con- 
duct nevertheless.  I  saw  the  sun  rise  after  Freder- 
icksbuj  *  on  more  than  1000  corpses,  stripped  of  ev- 
ery vestige  of  their  clothing  which  could  be  useful 
to  the  victors  and  on  other  occasions  after  we  had 
recovered  from  the  enemy  the  ground  where  our  own 
dead  lay,  I  saw  that  they,  too,  had  vandals  in  their 
ranks. 

I  think  now  that  I  had  extreme  ideas  on  the  sub- 
ject. I  expatiated  to  my  comrades  on  the  horrible 
custom.  The  company  to  which  I  belonged  was  an 
old  one,  organized  for  the  Indian  war  of  1836.  It 
marched  into  the  city  of  Mexico  with  Scott,  and  had 
been  feted  and  toasted  in  the  piping  times  of  peace 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      111 

for  its  superior  drilling  and  the  excellent  material 
of  which  it  was  composed.  It  was  our  boast  that 
every  man  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty-odd  who 
composed  the  company  was  a  gentleman.  It  was  not 
singular  that  I,  boy  as  I  was,  should  have  abhorred 
the  practice  of  sacking  the  dead,  for  we  dwelt  upon 
the  enormity  of  the  fiendish  practice,  and  vied  with 
each  other  in  condemning  it. 

I  wonder  now  how  a  change  came  over  me.  After 
the  lapse  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  will 
try  to  tell  how  it  was  that  I,  too,  sacked  the  dead. 

It  was  in  September,  1864,  after  the  terrible  cam- 
paign of  the  Wilderness  when  the  two  armies  had  set- 
tled down  before  Petersburg  into  steady  seige  work, 
but  murder  kept  going  on  all  the  time,  day  and  night, 
with  bomb  and  shell,  minnie  bullet,  mine  and  coun- 
termine. Over  to  the  north  of  the  James  a  force  of 
the  enemy  had  a  demonstration,  and  the  part  of  the 
army  to  which  I  was  attached  had  hurried  over  there 
and  met  them  at  Deep  Bottom,  where  Colonel  Oates 
lost  his  arm  and  the  gallant  Girardy  lost  his  life. 
Three  small  brigades,  some  cavalry  and  artillery, 
about  1500  in  all,  were  left  to  guard  the  north  side, 
and  the  writer  was  one  of  this  force.  The  writer 
had  a  brother,  an  only  brother,  in  the  fifteenth  Ala- 
bama, who  was  captured  in  a  night  fight  in  Wills 
Valley  near  Lookout  mountain  in  November,  1863. 

The  first  information  received  stated  that  he  had 
been  killed,  but  letters  sent  by  flag  of  truce  to  differ- 
ent prisons,  were  finally  answered  by  him,  and  he 
stated  that  in  a  land  of  plenty,  in  sight  of  fields  of 
wheat  and  corn,  he  was  slowly  starving,  and  that 
numbers  of  his  comrades  had  already  succumbed  to 
famine,  and  cruel  treatment.    He  further  stated  that 


112      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

his  clothing  was  in  rags,  his  only  blanket  worn  out, 
the  building  in  which  he  was  quartered,  open;  he 
did  not  believe  he  could  survive  the  rigors  of  the  ap- 
proaching winter,  and  wound  up  by  an  appeal  to  his 
brother  to  send  him  some  funds  with  which  to  pur- 
chase food  and  clothes,  which  might  prolong  his  life. 
These  letters  were  received  during  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1864,  while  we  lay  at  Deep  Bottom.  My  ser- 
geant's pay  was  $28  per  month  in  Confederate  cur- 
rency, and  all  my  friends  could  not  have  raised  a  dol- 
lar in  greenbacks. 

Somehow,  during  the  quiet  days  at  Deep  Bottom, 
the  thought  of  that  boy,  starving  in  a  land  of  plenty; 
of  how  I  had  shared  my  scanty  rations  with  Yankee 
prisoners,  and  risked  the  enemy's  bullets  to  carry 
their  wounded  succor  and  water,  and  how  hopeless 
I  was  to  aid  my  only  brother,  preyed  on  my  mind  un- 
til it  underwent  a  great  change.  The  only  way  to 
get  any  funds  which  would  benefit  my  brother  was 
to  sack  a  dead  Yankee,  and  I  found  myself  arguing 
that,  in  so  good  a  cause,  it  could  not  be  wrong,  and 
from  this  I  soon  grew  to  believe  it  would  be  a  praise- 
worthy a  t.  Thus  it  was  that  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
raise  son  e  funds  from  the  dead  the  very  next  time  I 
had  an  opportunity.  We  fronted  James  river,  dis- 
tant about  a  mile,  about  eight  miles  below  Richmond. 

ON  THE  JAMES  RIVER. 

On  September  29,  1864,  Ben  Butler,  with  an  army 
of  18,000  crossed  the  James,  and  pushed  a  force  di- 
rectly up  the  river,  where  was  only  a  picket  line,  and 
another  force  attacked  us.  Before  day  I  was  out 
near  the  river  and  saw  the  enemy's  skirmish  line  and 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      113 

heard  their  words  of  command.  I  hurried  back  and 
reported  to  the  general  in  command,  who  directed  me 
to  go  out  and  again  report  what  I  could  find  out.  Be- 
fore I  could  return  from  this  duty,  an  attack  was 
made  all  along  the  line  and  a  large  force  marched 
between  us  and  Richmond,  compelling  my  command 
to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  from  its  position,  and  I  never 
returned  to  camp  again.  All  my  worldly  effects — 
clothing,  blankets,  everything  except  what  I  wore, 
fell  into  the  enemy's  hands.  I  was  completely  sacked, 
and  my  anticipations  of  booty  vanished ;  and  with 
the  rest  of  the  command  I  was  speeding  at  a  double- 
quick  toward  the  fortifications. 

About  two  miles  distant  was  a  line  of  works,  one 
part  of  which  was  called  Fort  Harrison.  When  we 
emerged  from  the  woods  and  came  in  sight  there 
was  a  brigade  of  some  3000  blue  coats  between  us 
and  the  fort.  Like  us  they,  too,  had  been  at  a  dou- 
ble quick  for  a  long  way,  and  were  now  quietly  rest- 
ing under  the  shelter  of  a  little  hill,  preparatory  to 
making  a  dash  at  the  fort,  which,  but  for  an  accident 
would  have  been  entirely  without  defenders.  A  work- 
ing detail  of  seventy  men,  under  Major  Moore  of 
the  seventeenth  Georgia,  was  passing  near  when  the 
enemy  came  in  sight  and  he  immediately  resolved  to 
fight  the  overwhelming  force.  He  got  a  sick  artil- 
leryman to  show  him  how  to  load  a  thirty-two  pound- 
er in  the  fort,  and  with  this  he  kept  up  a  great  noise, 
while  the  enemy  was  advancing  through  the  field  in 
front.  Being  in  light  marching  order  and  swift  on 
foot,  three  of  us,  who  were  scouts,  were  ahead  of 
the  command  and  came  up  very  near  the  rear  of  the 
enemy,  firing  into  the  mass  of  men,  who  took  very 
little  notice  of  us;  there  was  a  bigger  game  in  front 


114      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

of  them,  and  Richmond  was  almost  in  their  grasp. 
But  when  the  head  of  our  column  well  night  exhaust- 
ed with  the  long  run,  came  near  enough  to  cause 
alarm,  the  blue  coats  rose  and  made  a  rush  at  the 
fort.  The  old  thirty-two  pounder  had  been  double 
shotted  with  grape  as  large  as  walnuts,  and  when 
the  enemy  reached  the  crest  of  the  hill,  the  gallant 
Moore  pulled  the  lanyard,  and  the  charge  tore  a  lane 
through  the  masses  of  the  enemy.  That  scene  is 
pictured  on  memory  now.  The  cannon  was  dismount- 
ed by  the  recoil.  The  enemy  filled  the  ditch  and 
climbed  up  the  parapet  of  the  fort,  and  I  could  see 
our  few  but  gallant  fellows  striking  at  them  with  the 
butts  of  their  muskets.  In  a  few  moments  the  fort 
was  taken  and  the  attention  of  the  victors  was  turn- 
ed to  the  approaching  Confederates.  I  got  a  few  men, 
crossed  over  the  flanking  breast-works,  and  getting 
behind  some  log  cabins,  which  had  been  winter  quar- 
ters, kept  up  a  brisk  fire  on  those  in  possession  of 
the  fort.  The  main  body  of  our  men,  still  outside  the 
line  of  the  fortifications,  attempted  to  reach  a  small 
salient  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  Fort  Harri- 
son and  r^rt  of  the  same  line.  The  enemy  rushed 
after  th  „m,  and  there  was  a  scene  such  as  is  seldom 
witnessed  even  in  war.  Both  sides  were  almost  ex- 
hausted with  their  long  run,  tongues  hanging  out, 
guns  empty,  one  side  calling  to  the  other  to  halt  in 
great  oaths,  and  the  gray  coats  refusing  to  surrender 
and  swearing  back  with  equal  vigor,  some  striking 
at  others  with  their  guns.  Of  course  many  of  our 
men  were  captured,  but  about  eighty  of  them  reach- 
ed the  small  salient,  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  under 
the  command,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  of  a  young  Vir- 
ginia corporal — Charlie  was  his  first  name,  the  other 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      115 

I  never  heard,  came  to  our  help.     A  more  gallant 
fellow  than  Corporal  Charlie  I  never  knew. 

The  enemy,  exhausted,  withdrew  for  a  time,  and 
then  reserves  began  to  file  into  the  fields,  in  plain 
view  of  our  position,  by  the  thousands. 

In  a  short  while  they  detached  a  regiment  about 
500  strong  to  charge  our  position.  They  advanced 
gallantly  under  fire  of  Corporal  Charlie's  two  guns 
and  the  remnant  of  our  force  until  within  150  yards, 
when  they  began  to  lie  down  behind  convenient  po- 
sitions, such  as  logs,  stumps  and  other  cover.  Some 
brave  fellows  came  within  20  yards  of  the  works, 
and,  finding  themselves  unsupported,  lay  down  there. 
In  the  spring  previous  a  small  piece  of  woods  in  front 
of  the  fort  had  been  cut  down  and  the  sprouts  had 
put  up,  and  these,  covered  with  leaves,  furnished  cov- 
er which  concealed  while  it  did  not  protect  the  as- 
sailants, who  kept  up  a  brisk  fire  on  our  devoted 
few.  Every  man  of  Corporal  Charlie's  force  was 
killed,  wounded  or  had  become  demoralized,  and  he 
had  to  call  on  the  infantry  to  help  him  load  after  the 
gun  had  recoiled  from  the  platform,  and  to  help  push 
the  gun  back  to  its  position,  after  which, amid  a  hail 
of  bullets,  he  would  aim  his  gun  at  the  ground  just 
in  front  of  the  fort,  and,  with  hearty  curses,  pull  the 
lanyard.  Sometimes  we  saw  caps,  pieces  of  muskets 
clothing  and  other  things  fly  into  the  air,  as  the  solid 
shot  tore  through  the  cover  in  front  of  us.  The  am- 
munition of  the  infantry  gave  out,  and  things  looked 
very  critical;  but  after  awhile  two  men,  who  had 
been  sent  for  it,  returned  with  a  supply  of  cartridges 
in  their  blankets,  having  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  a  tre- 
mendous fire  of  artillery  and  musketry.  Our  devoted 
band  raised  a  shout,  and  hope  revived  in  their 
breasts.     Across  the  wide  field  about  a  half  a  mile 


116      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

distant,  were  at  least  5000  federal  infantry  and  many 
pieces  of  artillery.  There  was  nothing  for  them  to 
do  but  to  walk  over  us,  but  for  some  unexplained 
reason  they  stood  supinely  and  let  the  brave  fellows 
in  front  bear  all  the  brunt  of  the  fight. 

We  saw  that  we  must  get  rid  of  these  men  nearest 
to  us,  and  volunteers  to  charge  them  were  called  for. 
Eleven  of  us  responded  at  once,  all  that  were  needed 
or  could  be  spared,  and  Lieutenant  Hines  of  south- 
west Georgia  called  for  two  of  these  to  be  the  first 
with  him  to  mount  the  works  and  draw  the  enemy's 
fire.  John  Lindsay,  of  Columbus,  Ga.,  and  another 
whose  name  I  forget,  promptly  responded  to  the  call. 
The  plan  was  for  those  who  were  to  remain  in  the 
fort  to  load  their  guns  and  be  ready  to  shoot  any  blue 
coat  who  arose  from  the  cover  to  his  feet ;  the  three 
men  were  to  draw  the  fire  of  the  enemy  and  the  other 
eight  of  the  charging  party  were  to  mount  the  works 
and  assail  the  enemy  who  were  lying  in  the  bush. 
The  plan  was  carried  out  perfectly.  It  seems  to  me, 
I  can  now  see  Hines  and  Lindsay,  both  redheaded 
and  both  small,  as  they  leaped  into  the  air  from  the 
works.  Some  of  the  Federals  at  once  rose  to  their 
feet,  and  all  who  were  loaded  fired,  but  our  men  shot 
down  every  man  who  had  arisen,  and  the  balance  of 
the  eleven  volunteers  at  once  leaped  over  the  works, 
I  being  one  of  the  number.  I  never  knew  what  took 
place  for  the  next  few  minutes  any  more  than  if  I 
had  not  been  at  the  scene  of  action.  I  had  no  know- 
ledge of  what  I  did,  or  of  what  others  did,  until  I 
found  myself  sometime  afterwards  about  100  to  150 
yards  from  the  fort.  To  say  that  I  was  excited  would 
convey  a  very  faint  idea  if  the  state  of  my  mind.  I 
was  entirely  absorbed,  delirous.  It  was  victory  or 
death,  and,  had  the  latter  come  to  me  then,  I  would 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      117 

not  have  known  it,  should  not  have  felt  it.  Our 
task  was  not  so  hard  as  it  would  seem.  When  men 
who  compose  a  charging  column  once  lie  down,  scat- 
tered behind  a  convenient  cover,  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  get  them  to  act  in  concert,  and  especially  hard 
to  get  them  to  rise  up  in  the  face  of  a  withering  fire. 
The  first  who  rise  are  shot  down,  the  rest  do  not  at- 
tempt it.  Lying  on  the  grounds,  scattered,  unable 
to  load  their  guns,  except  slowly  and  with  difficulty, 
they  interposed  little  obstacles  to  the  madmen  who 
rushed  among  them.  The  first  thing  I  remember  af- 
ter leaving  the  works  I  was  about  150  yards  from  the 
fort,  standing  with  one  foot  on  a  pine  log,  the  other 
on  the  ground.  My  Enfield  rifle  was  clubbed  and 
raised  high  in  the  air.  Four  living  and  some  dead 
federals  were  behind  the  log  and  the  victory  was 
won,  on  that  part  of  the  line  and  the  fight  was  over 
for  the  time. 

We  captured  287  prisoners  who  were  unhurt,  be- 
sides the  wounded,  and  there  were  many  corpses  on 
the  ground,  some  sadly  mangled  by  Charlie's  solid 
twelve  pound  shot. 

I  remember  that  I  ordered  the  four  men  to  the 
rear  and  made  others  go  into  the  fort,  when,  all  at 
once,  I  thought  of  my  brother,  and  this  was  my  first 
opportunity  for  getting  funds.  At  my  feet,  lying 
prone  on  his  face,  was  a  dead  man.  Corporal  Char- 
lie's solid  shot  had  hit  the  back  of  his  head  as  he 
lay  on  the  ground,  and  left  only  his  face  and  the  front 
of  his  skull.  I  turned  him  over,  got  out  a  new  pock- 
etbook  and  a  new  red  silk  handkerchief,  then  looked 
around  for  more,  I  found  two  other  dead  men,  hasti- 
ly relieved  them  of  their  pocketbooks,  and  began  to 
look  for  more,  when  lo!  I  found  that  my  Confeder- 


118      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ates  had  been  engaged  in  the  same  work  and  there 
were  no  more  bodies  to  search.  I  gathered  five  mus- 
kets, took  them  back  to  the  little  fort  and  loaded 
them  all  for  the  patient  gentlemen  who  were  stand- 
ing at  the  far  edge  of  the  fields  observing  all  these 
proceedings.  They  had  stopped  their  cannonading 
when  we  began  to  send  prisoners  into  the  fort  for 
fear  of  killing  their  own  men.  I  then  inspected  my 
booty.  Two  of  the  pocketbooks  belonged  to  owners 
as  poor  as  I,  for  there  was  not  a  cent  in  them.  But 
the  other,  the  first  find,  had  in  it  $49  in  greenbacks 
ard  96  cents  in  United  States  postage  stamps.  I  was 
rich.  I  had  found  money  to  send  to  the  prisoner  if 
I  could  only  live  through  this  battle.  I  also  found  a 
note  in  the  pocketbook  requesting  some  dear  comrade 
of  John  W.  House  to  notify  his  mother  and  sister  at 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  of  his  death.  I  was  not  a  comrade, 
but  I  wrote  by  flag  of  truce  telling  them  that  John 
died  bravely  in  front  of  the  enemy. 

This  was  the  first,  last  and  only  time  I  ever  search- 
ed the  pockets  of  a  dead  man.  Before  and  after  that 
time,  whilst  on  scouts  and  in  battle,  I  found  much 
plunder.  At  one  time  a  pearl  handled  dagger,  at  an- 
other a  wagon  load  of  delicacies,  among  them  bottles 
of  Otard  brandy  and  barrels  of  loaf  sugar;  at  an- 
other I  took  fifty-two  letters  from  girls  to  one  Asa 
Frear  from  the  knapsack  of  the  said  Asa,  and  in  the 
lull  of  the  battle  the  boys  read  them  aloud,  much  to 
their  edification. 

After  this  we  had  rest  for  a  time  on  our  part  of 
the  line,  but  away  off  to  the  left  at  Fort  Gilmer,  on 
the  same  line,  there  was  warm  work  going  on,  and 
far  in  our  rear  we  could  hear  the  sounds  of  battle, 


TWO  BOYS  IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      119 

where  Kautz  with  his  cavalry  was  trying  to  force 
the  innermost  defenses  of  the  city,  and  Pemberton 
of  Vicksburg  fame?  with  department  clerks  and  old 
men,  was  pounding  away  with  100  pound  shells  at 
a  skirmish  line. 

Meanwhile  some  Texans  and  reserve  artillery  had 
come  to  our  assistance  and  as  we  had  all  the  captur- 
ed rifles  loaded  up,  we  felt  anxious  to  try  another 
bout  with  our  friends,  the  enemy,  who  were  still 
in  plain  view  in  front  and  in  great  numbers. 

About  5  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  saw  a  stir  in 
their  lines  and  a  gallant  regiment,  the  forty-fifth 
Pennsylvania,  I  think,  marched  to  the  front  of  their 
lines  and  were  apparently  addressed  by  some  officer, 
after  which  they  directed  their  steps  towards  our 
little  fort.  The  regiment  appeared  to  number  about 
450  men,  and  as  we  had  about  150  besides  artillery 
and  the  advantage  of  good  breastworks,  it  was  a 
clear  case  of  suicide  on  their  part,  and  more  than 
one  of  our  men  expressed  sorrow  that  these  men  were 
sent  on  such  forlorn  hope.  Expecting  the  artillery 
and  ten  rifle  men,  our  force  was  ordered  to  reserve 
its  fire  until  the  enemy  reached  a  ditch  about  200 
yards  in  front.  They  came  on  gallantly  closing  up 
the  gaps  made  in  their  ranks  by  the  shells  and  bul- 
lets, and  preserving  their  line  as  if  on  parade  until 
they  reached  the  ditch,  when  a  terrible  fire  was  open- 
ed on  them.  They  made  a  rush  forward,  but  the  hail 
of  bullets  was  too  much  for  human  nature  to  stand. 
Some  escaped  back  to  their  lines,  but  they  were  few, 
perhaps  not  more  than  thirty,  the  rest  were  killed, 
wounded  or  captured,  and  we  held  the  fort,  which 
was  named  "Second  Georgia,"  after  the  writer's  reg- 
iment, until  the  fall  of  Richmond. 


120      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

It  is  fitting  that  I  should  relate  how  I  disposed  of 
my  booty.  I  mailed  to  my  brother  three  $5  bills  sep- 
arately in  letters  and  shipped  a  box  of  tobacco,  ad- 
dressed to  the  lone  prisoner.  Alas!  the  rules  re- 
quired the  letters  to  be  unsealed,  and  some  thief, 
Federal  or  Confederate  "sacked"  the  letters  of  the 
money,  and  the  tobacco  never  reached  its  destina- 
tion. When  the  surrender  came  at  Appomattox,  I 
had  of  my  booty  left  one  paper  10  cents  in  green- 
back, and  that  I  gave  to  a  federal  soldier  for  some 
soap. 

My  brother  pale  and  haggard,  his  spirit  utterly 
broken  by  want,  confinement  and  cruel  treatment, 
was  released  January  1865  on  parole. 

John  Lindsay,  who  received  a  furlough  signed  by 
the  immortal  Lee,  for  gallantry  at  Chickamauga,  was 
killed  at  Columbus,  Ga. 

Of  the  other  gallant  spirits  who  participated  in 
the  dangers  and  joys  of  that  day's  fray,  I  recall  Col. 
W.  S.  Shepard,  Capt.  Thomas  Chaffin,  William  An- 
derson, ("Prince")  James  DuBose,  "sex"  of  the  Col- 
umbus guards,  and  Henry  Bussey,  John  Simmons, 

Dave  Moreland, Shepherd,  of  other  companies 

in  the  second  Georgia.  It  was  their  lot  to  illustrate 
on  that  day  southern  heroism  and  prove  that  gun- 
powder had  not  driven  courage  out  of  the  world. 

THE  SECOND  MANASSAS 

A  slight  wound  received  at  Malvern  Hill  on  the 
1st  of  July,  1862,  and  a  severe  spell  of  sickness,  had 
given  me  a  furlough  at  home,  where  everybody 
showered  attention  on  the  soldier.  Returning  to 
Virginia  on  the  24th  of  August,  I  left  the  cars  at 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      121 

Culpepper  Court  House  and  set  out  to  join  my  com- 
mand, then  marching  to  the  Rappahannock.  The 
road  was  full  of  marching  battalions,  artillery  and 
wagon  trains,  and  it  was  difficult  to  pass  through 
them  while  in  motion.  When  halted  for  rest  the  men 
would  stretch  themselves  out  on  each  side  of  the 
road,  and  the  poor  stragglers  who  had  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  the  fire  of  wit  from  the  long  lines  of  sol- 
diers, is  not  apt  to  forget  it.  If,  as  was  the  case 
with  the  writer,  he  had  on  clean  clothes,  he  became 
the  subject  of  unmerciful  raillery.  At  every  step 
he  was  greeted  with  "Come  out  of  them  clothes;  I 
know  you  are  in  them;  I  see  your  feet  stickin'  out." 
"Look  at  the  conscript."  Then  some  persistent  fel- 
low would  say  "Left,  Left,"  as  if  drilling  an  awk- 
ward squad  to  keep  step,  and  just  as  I  would  get  out 
of  the  sound  of  his  voice  another  would  take  it  up. 
Every  old  soldier  who  was  at  all  sensitive,  knows 
what  a  trial  of  patience  he  had  to  undergo  in  pass- 
ing troops  on  the  march.  No  one  had  wit  sharp 
enough  to  parry  the  thousand  volleys  with  which  he 
was  assailed.  Fighting  was  out  of  the  question,  so 
a  kind  of  a  meek,  subdued  and  injured  air  was  the 
universal  refuge  on  such  occasions. 

I  overtook  my  regiment  at  Jeffersonton,  and  some 
shelling  was  going  on  across  the  river.  We  march- 
ed further  northward  and  camped  for  the  night. 
Our  rations  the  next  few  days  were  composed  of 
roasting  ears  without  salt,  varied  with  a  little  beef, 
and  on  one  or  two  days  a  slender  bit  of  badly  cured 
bacon.  I  saw  George  Abercrombie  eat  thirteen 
roasting  ears  at  one  meal,  and  then  he  dryly  remark- 
ed, "D — n  a  Government  that  won't  furnish  fodder." 

But  a  few  days  before  I  had  been  in  bed,  and  fair 


122      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

hands  had  prepared  for  me  all  sorts  of  delicacies, 
and  put  flowers  on  my  pillow.  The  change  of  diet 
was  rather  sudden,  not  to  say  startling. 

Stonewall  Jackson  had  gone  around  to  Pope's 
rear,  and  after  a  day  or  two  we  followed,  fording 
the  river  and  marching  through  the  peaceful  valley 
and  the  quiet  town  of  Salem  towards  Thorough- 
fare Gap.  This  Gap  is  a  natural  curiosity.  The 
mountain  range  has  the  appearance  of  having  been 
pulled  by  a  giant  hand  into  two  parts,  separated  by 
a  little  space,  just  sufficiently  wide  for  a  little 
creek,  a  country  road  and  a  railroad  to  pass  side  by 
side  through  the  range.  Tomb's  brigade  was  in 
front  that  day,  and  we  had  gotten  well  into  the  de- 
file, when  the  bullets  began  to  sing  through  our 
ranks  and  some  men  fell.  We  had  no  idea  of  danger 
until  then.  Withdrawing  to  the  edge  of  the  pass  we 
commenced  to  clamber  up  the  mountain  and  soon 
gained  the  top,  but  the  front  of  the  pass  was  occu- 
pied by  artillery,  which  shelled  us  till  after  night 
fall.  Some  troops  were  sent  around  by  another 
pass  and  when  day  returned  the  blue  coats  were 
gone  and  we  resumed  our  march,  Hood's  Texas 
brigade  in  front.  After  awhile  we  could  see,  far  up 
against  the  blue  sky,  the  white  smoke  of  bursting 
shells,  though  we  could  not  hear  their  sound,  which 
told  of  the  heavy  fight  Jackson  was  making  against 
the  whole  of  Pope's  army.  We  quickened  our  steps 
as  the  story  ran  down  the  lines,  of  the  danger  our 
comrades  were  in.  We  passed  Gainesville,  and  filed 
into  line  of  battle  on  each  side  of  the  pike  by  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  were  made  to  face  to- 
wards the  east;  as  we  afterwards  learned  to  inter- 
cept Fitz  John  Porter,  who  was  afterwards     con- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      123 

demned  to  die  because  he  did  not  walk  over  Long- 
street's  corps  that  day. 

Volunteers  for  the  skirmish  line  were  called  for, 
and  Ferguson  and  myself  were  accepted  from  the 
Columbus  Guards.  We  were  placed  in  a  field  near 
a  house,  and  far  enough  from  the  brow  of  the  hill 
overlooking  the  old  Manassas  battle  ground  to  pre- 
vent any  view  of  the  fight,  which  raged  all  day  and 
far  into  the  night.  By  the  cheering  in  the  shrill 
tones,  we  knew  so  well,  we  could  tell  that  our  com- 
rades were  victorious  in  the  charge  and  repulse.  We 
lay  in  line  that  night  and  until  4  p.  m.  next  day,  with- 
out even  a  sight  of  the  momentous  conflict  going  on 
within  half  a  mile  of  us. 

About  4  p.  m.  Col.  Rosser  ordered  a  battery  of  the 
famous  Washington  Artillery  to  the  brow  of  the 
hill  in  front,  and  some  of  the  pieces  were  planted 
within  a  few  yards  of  a  farm  house,  Compton's,  the 
doors  of  which  had  been  closed  all  the  time.  At  the 
word  of  command  the  six  guns  were  discharged, 
shaking  the  earth  with  their  roar,  and  all  at  once, 
the  basement  door  was  thrown  open,  and  a  poor 
woman  with  two  babies  in  her  arms,  followed  by  a 
nurse  and  several  small  children  rushed  out,  shriek- 
ing as  if  they  were  about  to  be  murdered.  Fergu- 
son and  I  threw  down  our  guns  and  rushed  to  them 
and  taking  an  armful  of  children  apiece  bore  them 
off  to  a  place  of  safety.  The  poor  woman  was 
frightened  nearly  to  death,  and  doubtless  thought 
her  end  had  come.  Later  in  the  night  I  saw  her 
attending  to  the  wounded,  and  she  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  repay  the  little  kindness  I  had  shown  her, 
by  attending  to  my  own  hurt. 

We  were  ordered  to  advance,  a  rail  fence  lay  in 
our  way,  and  at  the  word  of  command,  a  soldier  at 


124      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

each  corner  gave  a  push  and  it  went  down  as  if  by 
magic.  As  we  reached  the  brow  of  the  hill  the 
whole  scene,  the  panorama  of  battle,  lay  before  us 
in  the  valley,  shrouded  only  by  the  canopy  of  smoke. 

For  the  first  time  I  saw  artillery  charge.  Two 
pieces  would  be  driven  at  a  furious  gallop  to  a  knoll, 
unlimber  and  fire,  while  two  others  would  gallop 
past  them  to  another  eminence,  and  commence  fir- 
ing, when  the  first  couple  would — like  well-trained 
dogs — rush  past  them  to  get  a  position.  Thus  alter- 
nating, this  artillery  kept  ahead  of  us,  although  we 
were  in  a  run,  and  actually  drove  the  enemy  some 
distance  before  we  could  overtake  them. 

Our  line  of  advance  carried  us  to  the  right  of  the 
Chinn  house,  down  a  little  ravine  with  a  hill  to  our 
left  and  a  piece  of  scattering  woods  to  our  right. 
The  site  of  the  Henry  House,  where  Bee  and  Bar- 
tow fell  in  1861,  was  about  one  mile  in  front.  On 
the  hill  was  a  New  York  brigade,  which  had  just 
come  up  in  splendid  line  as  a  reinforcement  as  our 
line  exhausted  by  the  long  run,  halted  and  com- 
menced firing.  I  had  fired  my  sixth  round,  at  the 
blue  line  on  the  hill,  about  80  yards  distant,  and  I 
was  capping  my  old  smooth  bore  musket,  when  I 
received  a  minnie  bullet  through  the  lower  edge  of 
my  right  hand.  I  did  not  feel  any  pain,  but  my  arm 
was  completely  benumbed  I  was  a  little  in  front  of 
my  company,  and  walked  back  to  them.  I  remem- 
ber now  that  I  was  completely  bewildered,  and  had 
no  idea  what  to  do.  I  was  an  useless  machine  of 
no  further  value  in  that  fight.  Tom  Beasley,  cousin 
of  Augusta  Jane  Evans,  the  authoress,  was  sergeant 
of  the  little  corps,  generally  carrying  an  old  cavalry 
sabre  as  a  walking  stick.  He  came  to  me,  and  amid 
the  shower  of  bullets  untied  a  handkerchief  conven- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      125 

iently  fastened  about  my  neck,  and  with  it,  tied  my 
hand,  which  was  bleeding  profusely.  Tom  was  as 
cool  and  deliberate  as  if  he  was  far  from  danger, 
and  told  me  to  lie  down  in  a  little  depression  near  by. 
This  soon  filled  up  with  wounded  men  and  proving  to 
be  a  very  unsafe  place,  I  went  across  the  ravine,  and 
lay  down  in  a  little  gulley,  where  a  dead  Confederate 
made  a  sort  of  breastwork  for  me.  I  heard  several 
bullets  strike  my  fortification;  men  came  running 
over  me  in  rapid  flight,  and  I  could  hear  it  said  that 
our  men  were  giving  way.  Never  having  been  in 
the  rear  before  I  was  not  aware  that  this  demorali- 
zation was  common  in  the  rear  of  a  line  of  battle, 
so  I  took  to  flight  with  the  rest.  It  took  a  long  run  to 
get  out  of  the  reach  of  bursting  shells  and  bullets.  I 
met  General  Toombs  and  staff  in  a  gallop,  their 
horses  covered  with  foam.  He  had  been  under  ar- 
rest, but  obtained  permission  to  join  his  brigade.  I 
raised  my  hat  and  he  stopped  long  enough  to  inquire 
the  whereabouts  of  his  brigade. 

Finally,  I  arrived  at  a  place  where  I  could  rest  in 
comparative  safety,  and  I  turned  to  view  the  battle. 
The  roar  of  artillery,  the  incessant  discharge  of 
small  arms,  the  shout  of  the  combatants  were  ex- 
citing enough,  but  the  smoke  hung  over  the  lines  so 
that  little  could  be  seen.  Finally,  about  sundown, 
Lee  ordered  his  last  reserves.  It  was  a  Georgia  bri- 
gade advancing  gallantly  through  the  level  field  on 
our  extreme  right,  and  a  Federal  brigade  was  sent 
to  meet  them.  The  sun  shone  brightly  on  the  long 
lines  of  steel,  and  the  foemen  advanced  with  quick 
steps  towards  each  other,  as  if  they  were  brothers 
eager  to  embrace.  All  at  once,  they  stopped,  the 
blue  line  got  in  the  first  volley.  Some  of  the  gray 
fell,  some  ran  to  the  rear.    I  wondered  if  they  would 


126      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

all  follow.  Staggered  for  a  moment,  they  returned 
the  volley,  and  with  a  shout  rushed  forward  into  the 
canopy  of  smoke,  and  I  saw  no  more  of  the  battle, 
though  I  watched  with  anxious  eyes  till  nightfall. 
Streams  of  wounded,  ambulances,  staff  officers,  men 
hurrying  to  and  fro,  were  plentiful.  The  firing  and 
the  shouts  of  our  men  grew  more  distant  and  I  knew 
we  had  won  the  day. 

A  sense  of  lonliness  came  over  me.  I  was  a  broken 
wheel,  a  useless  machine,  with  no  companions  and 
no  food.  I  wandered  to  the  place  from  which  we 
started  to  charge,  and  there  it  was  darkness  and 
more  lonely.  Beyond  I  saw  the  glimmer  of  a  light, 
and  there  I  found  the  lady  whom  we  had  assisted. 
She  bound  up  my  hand,  gave  me  water  to  drink  and 
a  kind  word.  I  made  my  way  back  to  the  Chinn 
House,  and  lay  down  in  the  east  portico.  The  house 
and  yard  were  full  of  dead  and  wounded  men,  but 
fatigue,  hunger  and  wretchedness  were  soon  forgot- 
ten in  welcome  sleep.  During  the  night  a  wounded 
captain  was  brought  and  laid  down  beside  me,  but 
when  morning  came  he  was  a  corpse. 

A  cold  rain  was  falling,  the  surgeons  were  still 
busy  amputating  limbs,  and  the  piles  of  legs  and 
arms  attested  their  patient  work  during  the  night. 
The  sight  was  not  calculated  to  cheer  me.  The  smell 
of  warm  blood,  in  my  exhausted  condition,  was  too 
much  for  me,  and  for  once  I  nearly  fainted,  but  I 
went  out  into  the  cold  rain  and  walked  among  the 
numerous  dead,  who  covered  the  fields  around. 

After  a  while,  out  of  sheer  loneliness  and  wretch- 
edness, I  approached  a  group  of  wounded  federals 
and  sitting  on  the  ground  in  the  rain,  we  talked  over 
the  events  of  the  day  before.  One  of  them,  a  captain 
from  Pennsylvania,  whose  name  I  regret  that  I  have 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      127 

forgotten,  had  the  air  and  manner  of  a  courteous 
gentleman.  We  soon  became  friends.  His  ankle  was 
shattered,  but  he  had  hands,  coffee  and  rations.  I 
brought  wood  and  water;  he  made  a  fire  and  some 
very  good  coffee.  He  shared  the  contents  of  his 
haversack  with  me,  and  under  the  influence  of  a  good 
meal  our  spirits  revived.  He  pressed  me  to  visit  him 
or  call  on  him  for  any  favor,  and  as  good  friends 
we  parted,  he  in  an  ambulance  train  under  flag  of 
truce  for  Washington,  and  I  for  a  weary  walk  to 
Culpepper,  a  hospital  experience,  and  a  sixty  days 
furlough.  I  trust  that  the  courteous  Pennsylvanian, 
at  once  my  enemy,  host  and  friend,  yet  lives  in  pros- 
perity. 

I  have  thus  detailed  what  I  actually  saw  of  the 
second  battle  of  Manassas,  not  because  it  is  thrilling 
or  interesting,  but  to  show  how  little  of  a  battle  is 
actually  seen  by  one  man. 

Between  thirty  and  forty  thousand  men  were  kill- 
ed, wounded  or  captured,  and  many  pieces  of  artil- 
lery and  thousands  of  small  arms  were  taken,  yet  I 
only  saw  a  small  part  of  it.  The  line  of  battle  ex- 
tended over  several  miles,  the  woods,  hills  and  smoke 
prevented  any  extended  observation. 

SANDER'S  BRIGADE 

AT  THE  CRATER. 

After  Grant  met  the  bloody  repulse  at  Cold  Har- 
bor early  in  June,  1864,  he  moved  to  the  left  and, 
crossing  the  James  river  on  pontoons,  suddenly 
threw  a  large  part  of  his  army  against  Petersburg. 
Gen.  Lee  having  to  move  by  a  longer  line  and  across 


128      TWO  BOYS  IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

two  bridges,  was  unable  to  meet  the  federals  with 
anything  like  equal  numbers  and  there  was  a  terri- 
ble struggle  to  save  Petersburg  on  the  17th  and  18th 
days  of  June.  Hood's  old  division,  commanded  at 
that  time  by  Gen.  Fields,  to  which  the  writer  be- 
longed, arrived  at  the  front  line  during  the  night  of 
the  18th  of  June,  and  took  position  behind  the  line 
which  had  fought  all  day,  and  when  light  dawned  we 
found  that  we  were  in  close  range  of  the  enemy  and 
without  works,  in  an  open  field.  With  bayonets  for 
picks  and  tin  cups  for  spades  we  speedily  threw  up 
earthworks,  which  afterwards  formed  part  of  the  fa- 
mous line  of  defense. 

Just  to  our  left,  and  east  of  the  city,  was  a  slight 
elevation,  and  here  the  lines  were  only  about  a  hun- 
dred yards  apart,  and  firing  was  incessant.  Men 
would  load  and  fire  for  two  hours  in  the  night,  wake 
up  the  relief  and  lie  down  in  the  trenches.  The  re- 
lief would  often  stand  with  one  foot  on  each  side  of 
the  head  of  a  sleeping  comrade  and  fire  until  re- 
lieved. Burnsides'  corps  faced  us  at  this  point,  and 
he  reported  that  without  a  battle  in  about  a  month  he 
lost  1,150  men,  mostly  killed. 

The  colonel  of  a  Pennsylvania  regiment,  composed 
mostly  of  miners,  suggested  a  mine  to  blow  up  our 
works,  and  obtained  the  consent  of  the  commander. 
A  tunnel  about  five  feet  square  and  110  yards  long 
was  run  from  their  lines  to  a  point  under  our  works, 
and  then  under  our  works  on  each  side  with  cham- 
bers cut  in  the  earth.  In  these  chambers  was  placed 
powder,  8,000  pounds,  and  the  tunnel  filled  with 
sand  bags  to  confine  the  force  of  the  powder.  Our 
engineers  had  discovered  that  the  enemy  was  tun- 
neling, and  had  sunk  a  shaft  at  that  point  but  not 
deep  enough  to  reach  the  tunnel. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      129 

Meantime  Grant  made  preparations  to  make  the 
blow  effective.  He  crossed  the  James  river  to  Deep 
Bottom,  near  Malvern  Hill,  with  a  large  force,  and 
this  caused  Gen.  Lee  to  carry  five  of  the  eight  di- 
visions which  composed  his  army  and  one  brigade 
over  to  the  north  side  of  the  James  to  meet  the  dem- 
onstration. Grant  recrossed  the  James  at  night,  and 
had  his  whole  army  massed  to  take  advantage  of 
the  whole  explosion  of  the  mine,  whilst  less  than 
three-eights  of  the  Confederates  were  opposed  to 
him. 

The  federals  had  eighty-one  heavy  guns  and  mor- 
tars, besides  many  pieces  of  light  artillery,  bearing 
on  the  point  to  be  assaulted;  their  infantry,  includ- 
ing a  division  of  negroes  of  4,500  men,  were  massed 
in  covered  ways  ready  to  spring  upon  the  thin  line 
in  front  as  soon  as  the  explosion  took  place.  This  was 
ordered  at  3  :30  a.  m.  on  the  30th  of  July,  1864,  but 
the  fuse  was  defective  and  was  relighted  after  the 
lapse  of  half  an  hour,  and  at  5  :45  there  was  a  vast 
upheaval  of  earth,  resulting  in  a  crater  about  thirty 
feet  deep,  fifty  feet  wide  and  200  long.  Many  of  our 
men,  one  a  colonel,  were  buried  under  the  masses  of 
clay,  and  their  bodies  still  remain  there. 

The  forward  division  of  the  army  poured  over  the 
intervening  space  into  the  crater  and  the  adjoining 
works.  It  had  better  be  explained  here  that  our 
works  were  formidable.  First,  there  was  an  earth- 
work six  feet  high,  with  a  broad  trench  behind  it.  At 
intervals  banks  of  earth  call  traverses  were  thrown 
up  perpendicular  to  these  works  to  prevent  an  en- 
filade fire.  Then  there  was  a  covered  way  some  fifty 
feet  in  the  rear,  which  was  a  broad  ditch  with  the 
e.rth  thrown  up  on  the  side  next  to  the  enemy,  and 


130      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

intended  to  cover  re-enforcements — those  bringing 
in  ammunition  and  rations — as  well  as  for  carrying 
out  the  dead  and  wounded.  Besides  these  there  were 
numerous  cross  ditches,  sinks,  etc.,  which  cut  up  the 
ground. 

The  enemy  took  possession  of  these  works  and  the 
crater  on  each  side  for  a  distance  of  more  than  100 
yards,  and,  once  in  them,  the  works  afforded  secur- 
ity against  any  attack  by  our  men  except  a  direct 
charge  into  them  and  mortar  shells. 

We  had  no  second  line  and  only  a  few  mortars 
manned  by  less  than  fifty  men  were  between  the 
enemy  and  Petersburg.  They  had  nothing  to  do  but 
move  forwad  to  the  crest  of  the  hill  and  Petersburg 
was  within  their  grasp.  But  the  severe  losses  of  the 
past  month  by  this  division  from  our  sharp-shooters, 
and  the  recollection  that  it  was  not  easy  to  win  any- 
thing from  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  as  well 
as  the  want  of  competent  leaders,  caused  the  enemy 
to  stop  in  the  crater  and  adjoining  works,  and  at- 
tempt to  wrest  more  of  our  line  on  each  side  of  the 
crater  from  our  troops.  Here  the  fighting  was  very 
severe.  Each  traverse  formed  a  little  fort,  and  was 
defended  with  desperation.  Behind  one  all  the  de- 
fenders had  been  killed  but  three  and  one  of  these 
took  his  position  kneeling  whilst  the  other  two  loaded 
guns  for  him,  and  as  fast  as  an  enemy  would  try  to 
pass  around  the  end  of  the  traverse  he  was  shot,  until 
twenty-six  men  fell.  The  ground  between  the  works 
of  the  enemy  and  ours  in  rear  of  the  crater  to  the 
crest,  was  swept  by  a  rain  of  fire. 

Burnside,  who  was  in  command  of  the  attacking 
force,  from  his  safe  position,  ordered  in  more  troops, 
who  rushed  forward  into  the  space  already  crowded 
by  men  sheltering  themselves  from  the  pitiless  bul- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      131 

lets  and  mortar  shells.  Finally  the  colored  troops — 
4500  strong — were  ordered  to  charge.  It  is  said 
they  had  been  plied  with  liquor  to  enthuse  them;  but 
the  delay  caused  by  the  failure  of  the  fuse  at  first 
caused  their  inspiration  to  cool ;  but  they  rushed  to 
the  crater  with  loud  cries  of  "Give  the  d — d  rebels 
no  quarter!"  Their  officers  tried  to  get  them  to 
charge  the  crest  behind  the  crater,  and,  in  the  court 
of  inquiry  held  by  order  of  the  federal  secretary, 
some  of  the  officers  testified  that  they  advanced 
200  yards  past  the  crater  towards  Petersburg,  but 
were  repulsed. 

Some  of  Sanders'  brigade  now  living  in  Birming- 
ham say  that  when  they  charged  over  this  very 
ground  later  in  the  day,  there  were  no  dead  or 
wounded  visible  on  this  portion  of  the  field,  so  it  is 
quite  probable  that  these  officers  were  mistaken. 

Repeated  orders  were  sent  to  the  division  com- 
manders of  the  Federal  troops  to  advance;  but  the 
reply  was  that  the  other  troops  were  in  front,  and 
the  scene  of  action  so  crowded  that  no  more  troops 
could  find  lodgment  there.  In  fact,  from  all  accounts 
some  12,000  or  15,000  men  were  already  packed  into 
a  space  about  the  size  of  a  block  in  one  of  our  cities, 
and  our  mortar  shells  exploding  in  the  midst  of 
such  masses  produced  frightful  confusion  and  death. 

As  soon  as  troops  could  be  moved  from  our  right — 
a  distance  of  nearly  two  miles — they  were  brought 
up  to  supply  the  places  of  those  killed  by  the  explo- 
sion and  to  retake  our  works.  Every  foot  of  the 
ground  over  which  the  charge  was  made  was  swept 
by  an  incessant  fire.  Nearly  100  pieces  of  artillery 
and  thousands  of  rifles  were  hurling  missies  of  death 
every  instant. 


132      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Mahone's  and  Wright's  brigades  were  brought  up, 
and  after  heavy  loss,  succeeded  in  retaking  our  lines 
up  to  within  forty  yards  of  the  crater  on  our  left. 
Then  Sanders'  Alabama  brigade,  about  1500  strong, 
was  brought  up  through  the  covered  way  and  filed 
into  the  field  about  300  yards  in  rear  of  the  crater, 
where  a  small  depression  sheltered  them  as  they  lay 
prone  upon  the  ground.  Mahone  went  along  the  line 
and  told  the  men  not  to  fire  a  shot  until  they  got 
to  the  enemy.  Sanders'  brigade  was  composed  of  the 
Eighth,  Ninth,  Tenth,  Eleventh  and  Fourteenth  Ala- 
bama regiments,  all  of  whom  had  seen  service  on 
many  a  well  contested  field.  These  men  lay  under 
the  burning  July  sun,  with  shells  and  bullets  flying 
over  them  for  nearly  two  hours,  when,  at  the  word  of 
command  they  rose  and  moved  off  in  quick  time,  in 
perfect  line  toward  the  crater.  When  within  about 
fifty  yards  of  the  enemy  a  terrible  volley  was  poured 
into  their  line,  and  the  devoted  Alabamians  trailed 
their  arms  and  broke  into  a  double  quick.  Before 
the  federals  could  reload  our  men  plunged  into  the 
crowded  mass  and  the  work  of  death  began  anew, 
but  now  with  bayonet  and  clubbed  guns. 

The  scene  is  said  to  have  been  indescribable.  In 
places  our  mortar  shells  had  exploded  in  the  crowded 
mass  of  men,  tearing  them  in  pieces.  In  the  hot  sun- 
shine the  odor  arising  from  the  blood  and  mangled 
remains  was  horrible.  One  man,  the  son  of  a  promi- 
ment  judge,  leaped  into  the  crater  striking  a  Federal 
to  the  ground  as  he  jumped  on  him.  Quickly  recover- 
ing, he  plunged  his  bayonet  through  the  prostrate 
man  with  such  force  that  it  penetrated  a  plank,  and 
when  the  gun  was  withdrawn  the  bayonet  remained, 
pinioning  the  man  down  as  a  boy  pins  a  fly  to  the 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      133 

wall.  As  the  Confederate  withdrew  his  gun  a  Federal 
fired  at  him  and  the  ball  shattered  his  left  arm  near 
the  shoulder.  Swinging  his  gun  with  his  remianing 
arm  he  brought  it  down  on  the  head  of  the  federal, 
crushing  his  skull.  The  wounded  man  then  escaped, 
living  long  to  tell  the  tale. 

Adjutant  Fonville  of  the  Fourteenth  Alabama  was 
shot  while  surrounded  by  enemies,  but  Captain  Ter- 
rell of  Dadeville  at  once  slew  the  man  who  killed  him. 
It  would  be  vain  to  even  attempt  to  relate  the  one 
hundredth  part  of  the  personal  conflicts  which  en- 
sued when  1500  men  threw  themselves  into  the  midst 
of  the  several  thousand  enemies,  packed  like  sardines 
in  the  crater  and  ditches  which  formed  our  works. 
Death  was  everywhere  and  men  fought  like  demons. 
Our  men  had  heard  the  cry  of  the  negroes  to  give  no 
quarter,  the  broiling  sun,  the  smoke,  the  smell  of 
powder  and  blood,  and  the  desperation  born  of  the 
resolve  to  conquer  or  die  brought  on  a  delirium  which 
all  soldiers  have  felt.  As  it  is  said  that  the  work  of 
slaughter  went  on  long  after  the  resistance  had 
ceased,  and  stopped  only  after  Mahone  had  exerted 
himself  for  a  long  time  to  stay  the  hands  of  his  in- 
furiated men. 

A  federal  soldier  visiting  the  scene  long  after- 
wards, relates  that  he,  with  five  white  and  fourteen 
negro  comrades,  had  crowded  into  a  bomb-proof  for 
shelter.  Knowing  that  the  Confederates  had  heard 
the  cry  of  "No  quarter"  from  the  negroes  and  fear- 
ing that  the  whites,  too,  would  be  slaughtered,  they 
deliberately  resolved  to  kill  all  their  black  comrades 
so  as  to  get  an  opportunity  to  surrender,  and  they 
carried  their  resolution  into  effect. 

The  land  on  which  the  crater  is  situated  was  own- 
ed by  Griffith,  and  is  now  owned  by  his  son,  who  was 


134      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

13  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  battle.  He  pulled 
the  lanyards  for  two  mortars  in  rear  of  the  crater 
for  two  hours  during  the  battle.  And  when  the  mor- 
tar ceased  firing  he  went  to  the  edge  of  the  crest  and 
witnessed  the  charge  of  Mahone's,  Wright's  and  fin- 
ally of  Sanders'  brigade.  He  says  the  soldier  boys  of 
the  volunteer  companies  drilling  in  the  streets  did 
not  make  a  better  line  or  move  with  more  precision 
than  did  Sanders'  brigade  when  they  marched  into 
the  jaws  of  death  on  that  eventful  day.  Griffith 
went  to  the  crater  on  August  1,  when  the  dead  were 
being  buried  under  flag  of  truce,  and,  with  the  vivid 
recollection  of  a  boy,  he  can  tell  many  things  forgot- 
ten by  the  men  who  took  part  in  the  same. 

He  says  in  some  places  men  were  piled  up  like 
cordwood,  tumbled  into  a  heap  at  least  six  deep. 
The  blood  had  been  mixed  by  the  feet  of  the  strug- 
gling men  with  the  clay,  until  the  mud  so  formed 
was  ankle  deep. 

The  total  loss  of  the  Federals  as  reported  by  Gen- 
eral Meade  on  that  day  was  4400;  and,  when  it  is 
considered  that  most  of  these  losses  were  in  a  space 
not  much  larger  than  one  of  our  city  blocks,  and 
that  space  cut  by  the  ditches  and  banks  of  earth, 
one  can  readily  imagine  what  a  scene  of  carnage  and 
bloodshed,  when  so  many  men  besides  1800  of  our 
own  were  lost. 

The  crater  is  now  enclosed  with  a  fence,  and  a 
growth  of  pines  and  cedar  has  sprung  up  as  if  to 
cover  the  awful  scene.  The  works  on  each  side  have 
been  leveled — done,  it  is  said,  to  obtain  the  lead  found 
in  them — and  the  field  is  now  cultivated.  The  same 
spring  to  which  we  resorted  at  night  continues  to 
flow  with  cool,  pure  water,  so  grateful  to  us  during 
the  weary  months  of  the  siege. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      135 

The  writer  served  in  the  trenches  over  a  month 
about  100  yards  to  the  right  of  the  crater,  but  his 
command  was  ordered  to  the  north  of  the  James  one 
day  before  the  battle,  and  he  did  not  participate  in 
it.  This  narrative  is  compiled  partly  from  accounts 
given  by  others,  and  partly  from  the  records  of  a 
court  of  inquiry  held  by  the  Federal  authorities, 
which  rested  much  of  the  blame  of  their  failure  on 
General  Burnside  and  some  of  his  subordinate  com- 
manders. Had  a  Jackson,  Gordon  or  Mahone  com- 
manded on  their  side  with  Grant's  whole  army  pres- 
ent, and  five-eights  of  General  Lee's  absent,  with  the 
advantage  of  the  surprise  and  the  loss  occasioned  by 
the  explosion,  the  siege  of  Petersburg  would  have 
terminated  on  that  day. 

The  writer  has  urged  some  of  the  participants  to 
put  on  record  the  part  taken  by  Sanders'  brigade; 
and  this  is  written  as  a  tribute  to  the  gallant  Ala- 
bamians  who  on  that  memorable  day  made  a  rec- 
ord of  valor  and  devotion  which  should  be  commem- 
orated by  a  monument.  Some  of  the  survivors  yet 
live  in  our  midst,  and  a  visit  to  the  crater  and  a  de- 
scription by  an  eye  witness  will  gratify  and  prove  a 
reward  to  anyone  who  believes  that  heroism  yet  lives 
in  the  world. 

When  night  closed  on  the  dreadful  scene  and  other 
troops  came  to  relieve  the  remnant  of  the  commands 
who  retook  our  works,  it  is  said  to  have  been  inex- 
pressibly sad.  Our  Virginia  regiment  went  into  the 
battle  with  ninety-seven  men.  At  roll  call  that  night 
only  seven  answered  to  their  names,  and  none  were 
prisoners.  Ninety  were  dead  or  wounded.  At  the 
roll  call  of  the  Sixty-fourth  Georgia  of  Wright's  bri- 
gade, the  major  of  the  regiment  would  answer  to  the 


136      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

names  of  those  who  had  been  killed  "dead  on  the 
field  of  honor."  He  burst  into  tears  but  with  broken 
voice  he  continued  the  responses.  Sanders'  brigade 
did  not  suffer  so  heavily  as  some  of  the  others  who 
charged  earlier  in  the  day. 

CHICAMAUGA 

After  Lee's  army  had  recoiled  from  the  rock-bound 
heights  of  Gettysburg,  and,  cumbered  with  its 
wounded,  had  slowly  made  its  way  to  the  swollen 
Potomac,  to  find  that  its  pontoons  had  been  destroy- 
ed, we  turned  to  hold  the  cautious  enemy  at  bay  at 
Falling  Waters,  whilst  means  for  crossing  the  river 
could  be  procured.  We  lay  watching  the  foe,  while 
houses  were  being  torn  down  to  procure  plank  to 
make  the  bridge,  and  finally  our  rear-guard  ap- 
proached the  river  under  the  fire  of  shell  and  minnie 
bullets.  A  brass  band  had  been  stationed  on  the  hill 
overlooking  the  Virginia  end  of  the  bridge,  and  I  can 
recall  distinctly  that,  mingled  with  the  whiz  of  the 
bullets  and  the  roar  of  artillery  came  the  burst  of 
music  from  the  band  as  it  gaily  discoursed,  "Ain't 
you  mighty  glad  you've  come  out  of  the  Wilderness?" 
I  have  had  a  sort  of  affection  for  the  air  ever  since. 
After  that,  we  had  little  trouble  from  our  pursuers, 
and  we  went  into  camp  behind  the  Rappahannock, 
near  Chancellorsville  battle  ground,  where  we  re- 
mained until  September,  resting  and  recruiting  our 
wasted  columns,  with  the  returning  comrades  who 
had  been  only  slightly  wounded.  Camp  duties  were 
light,  and  especial  pains  were  taken  to  feed  us  well. 

I  remember  well  that  we  took  special  pride  in  a 
dinner  our  mess  gave  one  day,  in  which  the  principal 
dish  was  a  pot  of  forty-two  apple  dumplings,  served 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      137 

with  sauce  made  of  butter,  sugar,  and  apple  brandy. 
It  was  a  red  letter  day  for  us,  and  the  fortunate 
guests  were  looked  upon  as  pampered  epicures.  The 
sutler's  stores  supplied  playing  cards,  books  of  all 
kinds  began  to  circulate,  and  we  took  our  ease  under 
the  shade  of  the  forest,  played  whist  and  euchre  or 
read  Macaria,  Les  Miserables,  or  Scott's  novels,  or 
slept,  or  dreamed  away  existence,  not  knowing  what 
hour  might  call  us  to  face  danger  again. 

Suddenly  we  received  orders  to  prepare  four  day's 
rations,  and  be  ready  to  march  at  a  moment's  notice, 
no  one  knew  whither,  but  we  all  knew  that  the  ene- 
my in  front  was  making  no  demonstration,  and  that 
Bragg  had  been  manoeuvred  out  of  Chattanooga,  and 
a  battle  was  imminent  in  Georgia.  We  soon  ascer- 
tained that  two  of  Longstreet's  divisions  were  order- 
ed to  reinforce  Bragg's  army  in  Georgia,  and  em- 
barking on  the  cars,  we  made  our  way  towards  the 
South.  As  usual  the  men  were  as  gay  as  school- 
boys at  play.  We  made  a  stop  at  Raleigh,  N.  C., 
where  Holden  published  a  paper  which  was  very 
abusive  of  President  Davis  and  the  Confederate  Gov- 
ernment. That  night  his  office  was  attacked,  and  his 
printing  outfit  completely  destroyed  by  some  sol- 
diers, led  by  some  North  Carolinians.  During  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga  a  comrade  handed 
me  some  type,  which  he  said  came  out  of  Holden's 
office.  I  was  asleep  at  the  time  or  perhaps  I  would 
have  figured  in  the  business?  for  we  had  little  re- 
spect for  those  who  fired  into  our  rear,  while  we 
were  at  the  front. 

The  trains  moved  slowly  in  those  days  but  we 
finally  arrived  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  sometime  in  the 
night.  There  was  a  direct  road  to  Atlanta,  and  I 
had  taken  my  place  on  the  floor  of  a  freight  car  and 


138      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

was  fast  asleep  when  Lucius  Johnson,  son  of  him 
who  afterwards  became  Provisional  Governor  of 
Georgia,  aroused  me  and  informed  me  that  the  Cal- 
umbus  guards  had  permission  to  go  by  Columbus 
on  twenty-four  hours  furlough.  It  was  nearly  200 
miles  further,  we  had  no  money  to  pay  our  passage, 
that  particular  spot  on  the  plank  floor  of  the  car 
seemed  to  be  very  soft  and  inviting  to  me  in  my  half 
slumbers,  and  I  protested  against  going,  but  Lucius 
dragged  me  out  by  the  foot  and  we  took  the  train  for 
Columbus,  via  Macon,  and  had  comfortable  seats  in 
a  passenger  coach.  After  daylight  we  began  to  dis- 
cuss ways  and  means  for  making  the  trip.  I  had 
two  dollars  in  Confederate  money,  and  was  the  larg- 
est capitalist  in  the  company,  by  odds.  When  the 
conductor  came  around  the  first  men  of  the  company 
of  whom  he  demanded  fare,  replied,  pointing  to  their 
Enfield  rifles,  "I  paid  my  fare  at  Gettysburg,"  and 
the  poor  bewildered  man  had  to  content  himself  with 
the  answer.  Somehow  it  got  ahead  of  us  by  wire 
that  the  Columbus  Guards,  which  was  a  crack  com- 
pany in  the  days  of  peace,  was  on  the  train,  and 
after  a  little,  at  every  station,  the  people  shoved  good 
things  through  the  windows  of  the  cars  to  us,  with- 
out money  and  without  price.  Figs,  water-melons, 
cakes,  pies,  apples,  everything  one  could  desire,  were 
thrust  on  us  in  profusion.  Such  a  day  of  hilarity, 
feasting  and  enjoyment  I  never  saw.  At  Macon  we 
were  invited  to  supper  at  Brown's  Hotel,  the  best  in 
the  place,  but  several  of  us  could  not  accept  the  invi- 
tation because  we  were  full  already.  Arriving  at 
Columbus  late  at  night,  I  continued  my  journey  on 
the  Opelika  road,  to  my  home,  eight  miles  out,  where 
I  lay  down  on  the  piazza  of  an  old  store  and  slept 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      139 

two  hours,  rather  than  disturb  my  relatives.  A 
leave  of  absence  for  twenty-four  hours !  Can  you  re-, 
alize  it?  A  whole  day  among  loving  kin  and  friends, 
well  dressed,  clean  and  neat,  no  drums,  no  orders, 
no  bullets,  shells,  death  or  bloodshed,  nothing  but 
kind  words,  feasting  peace  and  pleasure.  It  is  said 
if  there  is  no  cross,  there  is  no  crown ;  and  one  must 
endure  hardships  of  a  soldier's  life  to  feel  to  their 
depths  the  pleasure  of  a  furlough  of  one  day.  How 
it  pictured  on  memory  now,  a  green  spot  in  the 
dreary  waste! 

Promptly  on  time  I  took  the  train  the  succeeding 
night  and  arrived  at  Atlanta,  where,  during  a  deten- 
tion of  a  few  hours,  I  took  the  opportunity  to  visit, 
for  a  short  hour,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Bryan,  the  authoress, 
an  own  cousin,  who  was  residing  with  her  father 
whose  name  was  Rogers.  This  was  the  only  time  I 
ever  saw  her.  Here,  too,  I  met  for  the  last  time, 
W  .D.  Kyle,  a  Tennessean,  who  had  left  his  home 
near  Clarksville,  to  join  our  company,  and  with 
whom,  after  a  year  of  friendship,  I  had  an  unfor- 
tunate misunderstanding.  We  made  friends,  spent 
a  pleasant  hour  together.  I  took  the  train  for  fate- 
ful Chickamauga,  and  as  I  stepped  off  the  cars  the 
sharp  reports  of  the  rifles  of  the  distant  pickets 
greeted  my  ears,  reminding  me  in  no  gentle  way, 
that  my  day  of  pleasure  was  past. 

I  found  many  of  my  comrades  on  the  ground, 
many  others  had  not  yet  arrived.  We  had  all  been 
anxious  to  come  down  and  help  our  comrades  of 
Bragg's  army  win  a  battle.  In  most  of  the  con- 
flicts in  Virginia,  we  had  routed  the  enemy  and  we 
were  consequently  inspired  with  the  belief  that  we 
were  irresistable  when  we  met  the     foe     on    open 


140      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ground.  On  our  way  down  we  had  boasted  that  we 
would  show  these  Western  Yankees  how  they  could 
be  beaten.  We  did  show  them,  but  alas!  it  took  the 
blood  of  three-fourths  of  our  men  to  teach  them  the 
lesson.  As  usual,  the  sound  of  the  picket  firing  and 
occasional  roar  of  cannon  had  a  sobering  effect  on 
us,  and  the  look  of  grim  determination  which  always 
precedes  the  battle,  settled  on  every  countenance. 

After  marching  and  counter-marching  in  the 
woods  in  a  very  perplexing  way,  about  4  P.  M.  of 
Saturday,  the  19th  day  of  September,  1863,  we  were 
ordered  forward  till  we  came  to  a  place  where  our 
line  of  battle  had  been  hotly  engaged,  and  for  a  long 
way  could  be  seen  the  still  forms  of  the  dead  Confed- 
erates, clad  in  their  rusty  grey  uniforms.  They 
were  almost  in  line. 

"E'en  as  they  fell  in  files  they  lay, 
Like  mowers  grass  at  close  of  day." 

In  Virginia,  where  the  country  is  mostly  open, 
we  had  been  used  to  the  sudden  charge,  a  volley,  a 
shout,  a  rush  forward  and  one  side  or  the  other  gave 
way,  often  to  return  to  the  charge,  but  these  West- 
ern armies  seemed  to  fight  a  square  stand  up  duel, 
to  which  we  were  not  accustomed. 

On  the  inanimate  forms  the  bright  September  sun 
was  shining  through  the  trees,  and  we  halted  right 
among  them  for  a  time,  while  the  shells  and  bullets 
of  the  enemy,  as  yet  unseen,  were  tearing  over  our 
heads  and  through  our  ranks.  This  situation  is  al- 
ways trying  to  the  soldier,  so  that  it  was  a  positive 
relief  when  we  were  ordered  forward  and  the  minnie 
mullets  began  to  thicken  as  we  approached  a  thicket 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      141 

of  young  pines  and  scrub  oaks  intermingled  with 
large  trees. 

Just  here  Gen.  Robinson,  Polly  we  called  him, 
commanding  Hood's  Texas  brigade,  rode  past  our 
front  and  said  something  to  the  men,  which  I  did 
not  understand,  but  a  shout  was  raised  and  we  broke 
into  a  double  quick  step.  I  learned  afterwards  that 
at  this  moment  the  command  was  given  to  "right 
oblique,"  but  I  did  not  hear  it,  and  went  straight 
forward  into  the  thicket.  There  is  always  an  in- 
terval of  space  between  regiments,  and  being  on  the 
left  side  of  the  Second  Georgia,  the  movement  caus- 
ed me  to  advance  alone,  although  I  did  not  observe 
it  at  the  time,  owing  to  the  excitement  and  my  being 
fleet  of  foot.  We  had  grown  careless  about  bayonets 
and  I  had  none,  but  was  running  along  parting  the 
bushes  with  my  left  hand  and  carrying  my  Enfield 
rifle  in  my  right.  All  at  once,  as  I  attempted  to  pass 
around  an  oak  tree  in  my  front  I  found  myself  face 
to  face  with  a  heavy-set  heavily  bearded  Federal  who 
was  on  his  knees  at  the  root  of  the  tree,  in  the  act 
of  putting  a  cap  on  his  gun.  It  was  a  mutual  sur- 
prise, for  I  had  no  idea  any  of  the  foe  were  so  near, 
and  his  astonishment  caused  him  to  open  an  other- 
wise large  mouth  very  wide.  I  cannot  say  he  ut- 
tered any  sound,  if  he  did  I  did  not  hear  it.  I  was 
greatly  astonished,  remembering  my  absent  bayonet, 
it  seemed  a  hundred  thoughts  flashed  over  me  in  the 
brief  instant  of  time  I  looked  into  the  face  of  my  foe, 
who  was  not  over  the  length  of  a  musket  from  me. 
In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it  I  fired  from  my 
hip  without  raising  my  gun  to  my  shoulders.  I  had 
frequently  killed  game  that  way,  and  struck  the  man 
in  the  waist.     He  threw  up  his  hands  and  fell  over 


142      TWO   BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

backwards.  Late  in  the  day  when  the  fortunes  of 
bettle  carried  me  past  the  same  place  in  hurried  re- 
treat, I  saw  his  motionless  form  in  the  place  where 
he  fell.  As  we  fought  the  Eighth  Kansas  Regiment 
at  this  point,  he  must  have  belonged  to  that  regi- 
ment. 

I  knelt  behind  a  large  stump  and  hastily  reloaded 
my  gun,  wondering  all  the  time  why  my  comrades 
did  not  come  up.  Just  as  I  finished  loading  I  saw 
two  federals  behind  a  tree,  not  over  five  paces  to 
the  left,  who  fired  on  the  Seventeenth  Georgia,  and 
I  heard  one  of  our  men  groan  as  he  sank  to  the  earth. 
He  was  not  five  paces  from  the  man  who  shot  him, 
but  the  thick  growth  prevented  seeing  very  far.  I 
fired  at  one  of  the  men  behind  the  tree  and  he  sank 
to  the  ground.  Reloading,  I  passed  through  the 
thicket  into  more  open  woods,  and  by  this  time  the 
whole  line  was  up  with  me,  and  a  scene  of  indescriba- 
ble confusion  ensued.  The  federals  were  jumping  up 
from  every  sort  of  cover,  trees,  logs,  stumps  and 
clumps  of  bushes,  and  taking  to  flight.  We  would 
call  them  to  surrender.  Some  would  turn  their 
heads  and  curse  and  few  surrendered.  As  one  of 
us  would  get  his  rifle  loaded  he  would  fire  at  the  back 
of  a  fleeing  Federal,  and  a  little,  but  distinctly  mark- 
ed cloud  of  dust  would  fly  out  of  the  dark  background 
of  the  blue  coat  and  down  would  go  the  unfortunate 
enemy.  I  suppose  every  old  soldier  has  seen  this 
cloud  of  dust  fly  from  the  stricken  enemy.  They 
had  no  time  to  reload  their  empty  guns,  and  our  men 
continued  the  slaughter  without  danger  to  them- 
selves.    This  was  just  north  of  Viniard's  house. 

To  our  left  was  a  field  in  which  the  enemy  had 
posted  themselves  behind  a  hillside  ditch,  grown  up 


TWO  BOYS  IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      143 

with  briers  and  bushes,  and  our  men  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  dislodge  them.  So  that  when  our  part  of  the 
line  followed  up  the  foe  in  front  of  us,  we  got  in  the 
rear  of  the  Federals  in  the  field,  and  when  they  gave 
way  and  became  panic  stricken,  in  crowds,  rushing 
past  us,  we  stood  in  the  corners  of  the  fence  in  safety 
and  fired  into  the  fugitives  until  the  slaughter  was 
sickening.  The  field  was  blue  with  the  uniforms  of 
the  dead  and  wounded,  and  I  have  never  seen  more 
dead  in  the  same  space  anywhere.  I  think  our  mode 
of  fighting  and  the  charge  right  into  their  lines  was 
a  surprise  to  them.    I  know  that  few  surrendered. 

We  took  a  dismounted  cannon  at  the  edge  of  the 
LaFayette  and  Chattanooga  road,  and  our  lines, 
which  had  been  much  disordered,  were  somewhat 
reformed,  and  we  started  to  advance  across  the  field 
in  the  direction  of  the  enemy.  But  some  batteries 
in  the  woods,  about  four  hundred  yards  distant, 
opened  on  us  with  cannister  so  fiercely  that  the  line 
halted  and  the  men  sought  such  shelter  as  they  could. 
The  cannister  fairly  rained  down  on  us.  It  was  very 
dry,  the  dust  in  the  road  was  deep,  and  every  shot 
sent  up  a  little  cloud  so  that  one  could  see  danger  of 
crossing  the  road.  I  got  between  two  of  the  dead 
horses  attached  to  the  captured  canon,  and  using 
them  as  a  breastwork,  fired  across  the  field  at  the 
enemy.  After  a  while  I  was  struck  in  the  side,  and 
the  blow  gave  me  intense  agony.  I  thought  I  could 
feel  the  track  of  the  ball  through  me  and  I  groaned 
and  rolled  over  with  the  pain.  Captain  Newell  of 
Co.  K.  called  to  me  to  go  to  the  rear,  but  I  felt  un- 
able to  walk.  After  a  while  I  concluded  to  examine 
the  hurt,  and  found  an  ounce  ball  twisted  up  in  my 
flannel  shirt  just  above  the  waistband.     From  de- 


144      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

spair  I  was  elevated  to  a  fighting  humor,  all  in  less 
than  a  half  minute.  The  enemy  reinforced,  com- 
menced to  advance  on  us,  and  the  storm  of  cannister 
had  killed  or  disabled  many  of  our  men  and  demor- 
alized the  line  to  such  an  extent  that  it  gave  way  and 
made  its  way  to  the  point  from  which  we  started  to 
charge.  I  did  not  go  so  far,  but  while  they  were 
forming  again,  rallying  it  is  called,  I  sat  down  be- 
tween them  and  the  enemy  opened  a  knapsack,  and 
examined  its  contents.  After  I  rested  sufficiently, 
I  went  to  the  line  and  we  charged  over  the  same 
ground  running  the  enemy  to  the  shelter  of  their 
cannon,  but  the  same  hail  of  cannister  met  us  at  the 
road,  and  another  counter  charge  compelled  us  to  re- 
tire as  before.  It  was  now  nearly  dark,  and  it  was 
hard  to  rally  our  disheartened  men.  Gen.  Hood,  with 
his  arm  in  a  sling,  came  along  and  talked  to  us. 
Again  the  order  came  to  charge ;  again  a  few  of  us 
went  to  the  road,  again  to  recoil  before  the  same  re- 
lentless storm  of  lead.  Perhaps  not  more  than  twen- 
ty of  the  Second  Georgia  participated  in  this  last 
charge,  and  we  lost  a  gallant  fellow — John  Seay,  of 
the  Stewart  Grays.  In  the  gloom  of  the  gathering 
darkness,  sullen  and  dispirited  we  again  formed  our 
lines,  and  prepared  to  receive  an  attack ;  but  the  en- 
emy had  been  too  heavily  stricken.  Three  men  were 
put  under  my  charge ;  we  were  taken  out  to  a  tree  in 
front  of  the  lines,  and  there,  among  the  dead  and 
wounded,  I  was  ordered  to  hold  that  post  and  keep 
awake  all  night,  and  guard  our  sleeping  comrades 
I  told  my  men  to  go  to  sleep  while  I  took  the  first 
watch.  In  the  gloomy  forest  it  was  perfectly  dark^ 
the  outcries  and  groans  of  the  wounded  were  the  on- 
ly sounds  to  be  heard,  and  the  recollection  of  that 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      145 

gruesome  vigil,  like  a  picture  draped  in  mourning, 
or  a  funeral  pall,  lives  yet  on  memory's  page.  The 
enemy  sent  out  men  to  bear  off  their  wounded,  and 
they  came  quite  near  us,  so  that  I  could  distinguish 
their  words  as  they  spoke  to  their  suffering  men. 
Our  orders  were  to  fire  on  everything  in  front,  but 
I  disobeyed,  because  it  would  have  been  unnecessary, 
inhuman  and  disturbing  to  our  men. 

We  were  relieved  at  sunrise  next  morning,  and, 
on  our  return  to  the  lines,  found  many  of  our  com- 
rades who  had  overstayed  their  one  day's  furlough 
trebly  sad;  in  that,  during  their  absence  without 
leave,  a  battle  had  taken  place,  many  comrades  had 
passed  over  the  river,  and  somehow  the  story  had 
gone  to  the  rear  that  Bennings  brigade  had  not  act- 
ed well  in  the  battle.  One  of  these  belated  comrades 
was  Lieut.  Patterson.  The  story  was,  that  he  was 
deeply  in  love  with  one  of  the  fair  belles  of  Colum- 
bus, and  finding  that  she  was  visiting  friends  at  a 
distance,  he  went  thither,  pressed  his  suit,  met  a  re- 
fusal, and  lost  a  day  from  his  place.  We  went  off 
to  a  tree  and  had  a  long  conversation.  He  was  deep- 
ly chagrined,  and  told  me  repeatedly  that  he  would 
have  preferred  to  have  died  that  fateful  Saturday 
than  to  have  been  absent.  He  was  pale,  his  lips 
compressed,  and  he  assured  me  that  he  had  a  fixed 
presentiment  that  death  would  come  to  him  that  day. 
I  tried  to  rally  him,  but  without  avail.  Before  the 
day  was  over  a  bullet  pierced  his  brain  and  he  never 
spoke  again.  Witty,  talented,  refined  and  educated, 
his  death  made  a  gap  in  our  ranks  never  to  be  filled. 

After  a  time  we  were  moved  to  the  right  and 
found  we  were  to  be  the  second  line  in  this  day's 
fight,  usually  an  easy  place  according  to  our  Virgin- 


146      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ia  experience,  but  alas!  it  was  not  so  here.  There 
was  the  usual  shelling  and  picket  firing  until  about 
11  a.  m.  and  about  the  time  the  good  people  at  home 
were  in  their  churches  praying  for  us,  we  moved  to 
the  front.  After  crossing  the  road,  the  brigade  in 
front  of  us  received  a  terrible  volley  of  shot  and 
shell,  and  turned  and  fled.  We  did  our  best  to  stop 
them.  Jim  DuBose  put  his  bayonet  to  the  breast  of 
a  big  Colonel,  and  swore  at  him  vigorously,  but  they 
ran  through  our  lines.  At  once  the  command  was 
given  "Steady,  men!  forward!"  We  hastily  formed 
and  pressed  forward.  In  a  moment  we  were  greeted 
with  another  volley  which  staggered  us  and  sent 
many  a  brave  fellow  to  his  long  home.  Down  the 
slope  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  distant, 
we  saw  six  cannons  and  a  long  line  of  infantry,  tre- 
ble our  numbers,  behind  breastworks  made  of  logs. 
None  but  veterans  would  have  stood  a  moment.  As 
it  was,  I  saw  the  faces  around  me  pale,  but  raising 
a  shout  we  charged  down  the  slope,  firing  as  we  ran. 
For  some  reason,  after  covering  about  half  the  dis- 
tance, the  men  halted  and  commenced  a  regular 
stand  up  duel.  This  was  a  great  error,  and  many  a 
brave  fellow  was  thereby  sacrificed.  We  silenced 
the  cannon,  and  I  could  see  the  bluecoats  beginning 
to  run  from  the  works.  The  artillerists  would  run 
back,  take  hold  of  the  wheels  of  their  cannon  and 
try  to  pull  them  away.  Above  the  roar  some  confed- 
erate would  cry  out,  "Shoot  that  d — d  fellow  at  that 
cannon!"  A  dozen  shots  would  be  heard  and  down 
he  would  go.  This  happened  several  times.  When 
about  twenty  paces  from  the  battery,  John  Lindsay 
left  our  lines,  ran  to  the  guns  and  picked  up  the  bat- 
tery's flag,  returning  waving  it  over  his  head,  and 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      147 

shouting  in  triumph.  He  came  directly  to  me,  and 
I  can  yet  see  the  fierce  joy  in  his  eyes.  The  artiller- 
ists kept  trying  to  drag  off  their  guns  till  we  got 
among  them,  and  from  this  position  we  could  enfil- 
ade the  works,  which  soon  caused  the  bluecoats  to 
leave  them.  A  few  of  us  passed  through  the  works 
into  the  woods  beyond,  but  our  numbers  were  by  this 
time  sadly  reduced,  and  heavy  reinforcements  to  the 
enemy  came  up  in  forty  paces  of  me.  Capt.  Chaffin 
and  I  got  behind  the  same  little  postoak  tree,  and,  be- 
ing farthest  in  advance,  we  received  especial  atten- 
tion from  the  enemy.  The  minnie  bullets  rained  on 
the  tree  and  flew  around  us.  Chaffin  had  the  seams 
of  his  pants  cut  on  both  sides  just  below  the  pockets. 
Whilst  loading  I  happened  to  see  Col.  Shepherd,  who 
was  a  little  in  our  rear,  receive  a  wound,  fall,  get  up 
and  run  to  the  rear.  Most  of  our  regiment,  then  a 
mere  handful,  followed  him.  I  told  Chaffin  to  look 
around  him,  which  he  did,  and  very  cooly  said,  "Why, 
Houghton,  I  believe  they  have  all  gone."  I  insisted 
on  going  too,  and  we  started  on  a  run.  I  think  five 
hundred  shots  were  fired  at  us  as  we  ran,  I  saw  the 
ground  torn  up  just  as  I  was  putting  my  foot  down 
to  the  place  several  times.  I  got  to  a  large  post  oak 
tree  and  stopped  to  watch  what  the  enemy  would 
do.  They  came  on  in  great  crowds  and  mounted  on 
their  cannon,  waving  their  hats  and  huzzaing.  Some 
of  them  wanted  to  make  stump  speeches.  From  my 
good  tree  I  got  several  shots  into  the  crowd,  but  in 
a  few  minutes  I  saw  Kershaw's  South  Carolina  bri- 
gade coming  like  a  storm.  They  gave  the  crowd  at 
the  cannon  one  volley,  they  tumultously  fled,  and  the 
guns  were  left  to  us  without  further  struggle.  I  was 
told  that  our  command  went  near  half  a  mile  before 
they  rallied,  and  if  the  enemy  had  followed  us,  in- 


148      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

stead  of  stopping  to  glorify  over  recapturing  their 
own  guns,  they  would  have  met  with  little  opposi- 
tion. 

I  was  left  on  the  field,  the  only  "unhurt"  Confed- 
erate in  sight.  I  refilled  my  cartridge  box  from  those 
of  the  dead,  got  a  canteen  of  good  cool  water  off  a 
federal,  and  walked  around  looking  into  the  calm 
peaceful  faces  of  my  comrades,  who  an  hour  before 
had  been  full  of  life  and  heroism.  In  an  hour  or  so 
my  regiment  was  led  back  and  were  surprised  to  find 
me  alive.  Many  more  incidents  happened  that  day, 
but  their  narration  would  swell  this  paper  too  much 
The  Second  Georgia  carried  two  hundred  men  into 
the  battle  and  only  42  answered  to  their  names  after 
it  was  over.  Many  of  the  absent  were  only  slightly 
wounded,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  fight  was  mostly 
among  the  trees. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that  I  was  struck  by  a  glanc- 
ing shot  Sunday  morning,  but  it  caused  no  incon- 
venience. 

While  at  winter  quarters  below  Richmond  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1865,  about  dusk  one  evening,  Adjutant  Redd 
walked  into  my  hut  and  handed  me  a  paper.  It  was 
signed  by  the  immortal  Lee  granting  me  a  furlough 
for  thirty  days,  by  reason,  so  said  the  paper,  of  "gal- 
lant conduct  at  Chickamauga."  John  Lindsay  also 
received  one  at  the  same  time  for  conduct  in  the 
same  battle. 

Unfortunately  I  lost  the  paper,  else  it  would  be 
prized  beyond  compute. 

I  ought  to  mention  that  someone  informed  me  that 
we  were  an  hour  and  ten  minutes  taking  the  battery, 
with  never  a  minute  of  intermission  from  the  storm 
of  battle.    The  trees,  bushes  and  little  twigs  were  all 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      149 

cut  and  barked  by  the  bullets,  even  those  the  size  of 
a  pipe  stem  were  barked  sometimes  in  two  or  three 
places. 

The  commander  of  the  battery  captured  had  tied 
his  horse  by  a  long  halter  to  a  little  bush  between 
his  guns.  It  was  a  magnificent  black,  with  a  bright 
red  saddle  blanket,  so  that  the  horse  was  a  conspic- 
uous central  figure,  as  he  reared  and  pranced  round, 
trying  to  break  loose.  After  a  time,  whether  a  bul- 
let cut  the  halter  or  the  horse  broke  it  I  never  knew, 
he  broke  away  and  followed  his  flying  masters. 

I  have  visited  Chickamauga  three  times  since  the 
war.  The  scene  of  Saturdays  fierce  contest  is  near 
Viniards,  and  rough  stone  monuments  mark  the  far- 
thest advance  of  the  2d,  15th,  17th  and  20th  Georgia 
regiments,  and  just  opposite  stands  the  handsome 
monument  to  the  Eighth  Kansas,  on  which  is  record- 
ed that  it  went  into  action  that  day  with  409  men  and 
lost  217.  About  one  mile  north  from  Viniard's  is 
the  scene  of  Sunday's  fighting  and  the  beautiful 
Georgia  State  monument  stands  near,  overlooking 
the  stones  erected  to  the  regiments  of  Bennings  bri- 
gade and  some  cannon  representing  the  Indiana  bat- 
tery captured  by  us. 

The  post  oak  which  sheltered  me  after  our  repulse 
was  cut  down  for  the  bullets  imbedded  in  it.  Bro- 
therton  of  our  brigade,  who  was  reared  on  the  field 
told  me  that  in  cutting  timber  to  make  rails  after 
the  war,  he  found  from  150  to  400  bullets  in  the  low- 
er lengths  of  each  tree.  Of  course,  in  making  the 
park  the  undergrowth  has  all  been  cleared  away. 
The  post  oak  which  sheltered  Capt.  Chaffin  and  my- 
self after  we  passed  through  the  battery  is  still 
standing.     The  battle  field  is  so  well  laid  off  and 


150      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

impartially  marked  that  every  participant  can  find 
his  position  without  trouble. 

AN  EPISODE  OF  THE  FINAL  ACT 
OF  THE  GREAT  DRAMA  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

From  the  fall  of  Richmond,  April  1st,  till  the  dull 
gray  dawn  of  the  9th,  we  had  fought  by  day  and 
marched  by  night,  hungry,  weary,  foot-sore,  and 
ragged  all  the  time.  We  (of  Gen.  Hood's  old  divis- 
ion) had  composed  the  rear  guard  of  the  army  dur- 
ing the  night  of  the  8th  and  at  break  of  day  we  filed 
from  the  muddy  road  into  an  old  field  and  lay  down 
on  the  wet  ground  to  rest  and  gather  a  little  strength 
for  the  conflict  we  felt  sure  was  to  come.  There  filed 
past  us  Ewell's  old  division,  gaunt  and  spectre  like 
in  the  murkey  morning  mist,  the  wreck  of  that  splen- 
did corps  which  had  chased  Banks,  Fremont  and 
Shields  from  the  Valley,  and  made  Pope,  Burnside 
and  Hooker  loose  their  high  commands.  Alas,  what 
a  change!  Its  brigades  had  dwindled  to  mere  com- 
panies; its  tattered  regimental  flags  upheld  by  hag- 
gard, famished  men,  were  so  near  together  that  it 
seemed  only  the  color  guards  had  been  left  to  make 
that  last  sad  review.  Truly,  coming  events  had  al- 
ready cast  their  shadows  before.  The  shadows  we 
saw,  the  coming  events  we  did  not  see,  for  how 
could  those  men  of  war  believe  that  there  was  any- 
thing but  battle  in  front  of  us. 

I  heard  Gen.  Lee  direct  Gen.  Benning  to  send 
scouts  to  the  rear  over  the  route  of  our  night  march 
and  by  the  time  the  courier  reached  me  with  the  or- 
der, I  had  buckled  on  for  the  last  time  the  familiar 
armor,  and  selecting  two  soldiers,  we  retraced  our 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      151 

steps  through  the  woods  and  far  into  the  fields  be- 
yond. Soon  we  saw  the  blue  coated  cavalry  coming. 
Sending  my  comrades,  who  were  unused  to  scouting 
to  the  rear,  and  sheltered  by  a  pine  thicket,  I  await- 
ed the  approach  of  the  foe.  A  major  rode  in  advance 
and  I  came  near  adding  his  name  to  the  pension  list 
before  I  saw  he  had  a  white  handkerchief  on  a 
switch.  He  gave  me  a  letter  addressed  to  Gen.  Lee, 
which  I  delivered  to  the  nearest  General  for  trans- 
mission by  mounted  courier,  and  returning  to  the 
rear,  I  found  the  Federal  infantry  forming  in  plain 
view  of  our  men,  who  had  orders  not  to  fire.  We 
could  not  understand  it,  and  I  hastened  to  my  com- 
mander with  the  information.  Shortly  the  news 
came  along  the  line  that  Lee  had  surrendered.  Like 
a  scar  burned  by  fiercest  flame,  that  scene  is  imprint- 
ed on  my  memory.  Gray  haired  veterans  wept  aloud 
or  wrung  their  hands  in  agony.  Some  broke  their 
swords  and  rifles ;  some  cursed  the  day  of  their  birth ; 
others  laughed  hysterically,  like  men  gone  mad  from 
sudden  frenzy.  We  were  surrendering  to  men  who 
fled  before  us  at  Manassas,  Fredericksburg  and 
Chancellorsville. 

Among  these  men  was  Sheridan,  whose  di- 
vision at  Chickamauga,  had  melted  before  us  in  the 
wildest  panic.  We  had  killed,  wounded  and  cap- 
tured more  of  that  army  than  our  own  numbered 
since  the  campaign  opened  in  May,  1864,  and  what 
mattered  it  if  they  were  now  seven  to  one,  recruit- 
ed with  bounty  loving  foreigners.  But  it  was  done. 
Gen.  Lee  had  said  so.  I  told  my  comrades  I  should 
desert  and  go  to  Johnson's  army,  and  going  to  Col- 
onel Latrobe,  Longstreet's  Chief  of  Staff,  I  told  him 
I  intended  to  desert.    I  remember  I  wondered  then, 


152      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

that  he  did  not  order  me  to  be  shot,  but  he  refused 
to  tell  me  the  best  way  to  get  out,  saying  that  his 
parole  forbade  that;  I  insisted  that  he  tell  me  where 
the  fewest  Yankees  were,  and  he  finally  waved  his 
riding  switch  towards  the  Southeast. 

By  wading  down  a  mill  stream  fringed  with  wil- 
lows, which  screened  me  from  observation,  I  passed 
the  enemy's  lines,  but  in  the  evening,  while  pass- 
ing through  a  large  field,  which  I  could  not  avoid 
a  foraging  party  of  Michigan  cavalry  captured  me. 
and  carried  me  to  their  commander,  Gen.  Custer 
who,  among  other  questions,  asked  me  what  I 
would  do  now,  if  I  had  my  way.  'Tut  powder  un- 
der both  armies  and  blow  them  to perdition!" 

was  the  reply.  "Said  he,  "If  you  have  not  enough 
of  fighting  I  have  a  man  here  who  will  give  you 
enough!"  and  he  called  out,  "Tom!  Tom!  when  there 
arose  a  Michigan  trooper  who  seemed  to  be  at  least 
seven  feet  high.  I  said  to  Gen.  Custer :  "As  I  am 
very  tired,  I  will  take  a  seat  while  you  make  game 
of  a  prisoner,"  and  took  a  seat  on  a  pile  of  wood 
prepared  for  his  evening  fire.  He  immediately  or- 
dered me  sent  to  the  provost  guard  who  shared  with 
me  the  Virginia  ham  and  coffee — all  they  had.  Two 
days  later  I  was  permitted  to  return  to  my  com- 
rades, received  my  parole  and  started  moneyless, 
ragged,  and  without  rations,  on  the  tramp  to  Ala- 
bama. 

My  company,  the  Columbus  Guards,  entered  ser- 
vice on  16th  April,  1861,  with  114  names  on  its 
rolls.  Thirteen,  of  whom  only  eight  bore  arms,  sur- 
rendered at  Appomattox. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      153 

After  Appomattox 
By  W.  R.  HOUGHTON. 

Forty  years  ago,  on  a  bright  sunny  Sunday,  the 
remnant  of  the  wan,  haggard  and  starving  legions 
that  had  followed  Lee,  surrendered  at  Appomattox. 
These  returned  to  the  places  that  had  been  home, 
many  to  find  houses  burned,  cattle  and  horses  stolen, 
fences  destroyed — all  without  money  and  without 
means  to  keep  the  wolf  of  starvation  from  the  door. 
Later  returned  those  who  had  been  kept  in  prison, 
some  from  Fort  Delaware,  near  the  City  of  Brother- 
ly Love,  where,  by  an  order  of  the  war  department, 
only  one-fourth  rations  were  issued  to  them,  and 
they  had  watched  noble  fellows  die  of  starvation  in 
a  land  teeming  with  plenty,  rather  than  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance. 

So  dire  was  the  need  in  some  regions  that  the  re- 
turned soldier  often  saw  his  children  crying  for 
bread.  One  gallant  man  in  Virginia  was  in  such 
straits  that  the  faithful  old  colored  butler  went  to 
him  and  told  his  former  master  to  sell  him  to  get 
means  to  live  on.  When  told  that  he  was  free,  and 
that  no  one  could  be  held  in  slavery,  he  replied,  that 
he  would  work  for  his  new  master  and  never  claim 
his  freedom. 

Another,  of  Bibb  County,  Alabama,  now  of  this 
city,  used  the  belt  of  the  sword  he  had  captured  from 
a  Federal  Captain  at  Petersburg,  to  piece  out  the 
harness  of  a  plow  mule. 

It  is  hard  now  to  realize  the  extreme  poverty  of 
the  land.  The  noble  people  of  Baltimore  sent  thous- 
ands of  bushels  of  corn  as  a  gift  to  the  suffering 


154      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

people,  but  they  could  not  supply  all,  and  the  wreck- 
ed railroads  could  not  reach  the  more  remote  re- 
gions. 

We  were  a  subjugated  people,  and,  so  far  as  the 
majority  of  the  ruling  party  can  make  it,  we  are 
yet  ruled  as  a  subjugated  people,  and  no  region  of 
similar  size  in  the  civilized  world  has  been  worse 
misgoverned  than  the  South.  In  1860  there  were 
only  225,000  free  negroes  residing  in  the  North, 
whilst  there  were  355,000  residing  in  the  slave-hold- 
ing section.  In  the  greed  of  power,  in  order  to  hold 
the  whites  in  subjugation  so  as  to  exploit  the  South- 
ern States  for  the  vile  carpetbagger,  and  worse  seal- 
awag,  the  ruling  party  deprived  a  large  element  of 
whites  of  their  votes,  and  made  voters  of  millions 
of  Africans.  Then,  finding  that  the  unconquerable 
spirit  of  race  supremacy  would  not  yield  to  social 
equality,  the  same  party  attempted  to  pass  force  bills 
which  in  varying  forms  is  yet  a  favorite  scheme  to 
preserve  party  power  and  the  colored  voter,  the 
bloody  shirt,  the  wrongs  of  the  negro,  fancied  or 
real,  are  yet  used  by  the  ruling  party  to  retain 
power. 

But  the  chickens  are  going  home  to  roost,  and 
there  are  now  1,750,000  negroes  residing  in  the 
North.  For  a  time  their  votes  held  the  balance  of 
power  in  Indiana,  Ohio  and  Illinois.  But  for  their 
votes  West  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Delaware  would 
be  swept  from  the  grasp  of  the  ruling  party. 

For  forty  years,  the  same  length  of  time  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  were  kept  wandering  in  the  wilder- 
ness, the  emancipated  colored  man  has  been  culti- 
vated, enlightened  and  made  a  citizen.  Out  of  its 
dire  poverty  the  South  has  paid  taxes  to  educate  the 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      155 

negro  in  the  common  schools,  without  any  aid  from 
other  sources.  Northern  philanthropists  have  given 
aid  to  colleges  for  negroes,  but  not  one  colored  per- 
son in  5000  is  reached  or  affected  by  these  schools. 
Every  Southern  man,  however  poor,  has  paid  a 
thousand  fold  more  in  proportion  to  his  means  to- 
wards educating  the  negro  in  the  common  schools 
than  Mr.  Roosevelt  or  any  other  of  the  dominant 
party,  unless  it  be  those  who  have  property  in  the 
South.  What  thanks  do  we  get?  What  reward 
have  we? 

The  consciousness  of  duty  done  may  be  reward 
for  some,  but  in  the  face  of  the  continual  nagging, 
the  ever  running  sore,  the  contention  that  we  are 
unjust  and  the  enormous  hypocricy  of  the  accusa- 
tions made  against  the  South,  the  average  man 
wants  a  change.  The  Northern  people  are  so  much 
wiser  than  we,  so  much  more  religious  and  patient, 
it  is  but  fair  that  they  take  the  negro  to  their  sec- 
tion and  keep  him  for  the  next  forty  years.  He  hao 
so  many  more  advantages  there  that  it  should  be 
very  attractive  to  him.  The  Philadelphia  papers 
say  that  he  can  vote  four  times  a  day  in  that  city 
and  get  paid  every  time.  Some  time  he  can  marry 
whites.  He  can  ride  on  the  street  car  in  the  same 
seat  with  whites,  eat  at  the  hotels  and  sometimes 
break  into  society. 

Let  them  go  North  at  the  rate  of  half  a  million 
a  year.  Encourage  them  to  go.  There  need  be  no 
fear  that  our  lands  will  lie  untilled.  A  few  years 
ago  there  was  a  cry  of  want  of  labor  in  the  black 
belt,  because  many  negroes  had  gone  elsewhere,  but 
now  lands  in  that  section  are  higher  priced  and  more 
in  demand  than  at  any  time  since  the  war.    The  nat- 


156      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ural  growth  of  our  population  will  offset  the  decrease 
of  the  negro,  and  it  is  better  that  our  young  men 
stay  in  the  homes  of  their  birth  than  to  go  west,  and 
better  to  have  them  here  than  the  negro,  or  foreign 
immigrants.  The  North  has  had  charge  of  the  negro 
politically  for  forty  years  at  long  range,  and  it  is 
but  fair  to  them  to  take  charge  of  his  morals,  educa- 
tion and  civilization  at  close  range. 

MANASSAS  IN  1903 

Taking  the  early  train  at  Washington,  I  found  it 
crowded  with  Southerners,  mostly  people  who  go  to 
their  old  homes  to  spend  Sunday.  The  land  from 
Washington  to  Manassas  along  the  railroad  is  gen- 
erally very  poor,  and  there  are  few  evidences  of 
thrift,  but  farther  south  in  Fanquier,  Culpepper  and 
Orange,  the  lands  are  very  valuable,  and  when  a 
forced  sale  occurs  frequently  bring  from  $75  to  $200 
per  acre.  The  farmers  are  doing  well  and  the  old 
homesteads  are  still  in  the  hands  of  the  descendents 
of  men  who  fought  with  Washington  and  Lee.  I  was 
informed  that  many  of  these  farmers  were  graduates 
from  the  leading  universities,  principally  that  of  Vir- 
ginia and  that  the  charm  of  old  Virginia  society  still 
holds  sway. 

From  Manassas  it  is  seven  miles  to  the  battle 
ground.  The  whole  country,  including  the  fields  of 
both  battles  is  fenced  in  with  substantial  wire  and 
post,  and  the  land,  being  poor,  is  mostly  used  for 
grazing.  The  farm  houses,  which  compare  favorably 
with  the  better  residences  on  the  Highlands  are  gen- 
erally situated  one-fourth  or  half  a  mile  from  the 
roads  with  an  avenue  flanked  by  old  cedars  in  front. 
After  a  time,  we  saw  in  the  woods  near  the  road  a 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      157 

board  inscribed,  "Gen.  Kirby  Smith  was  wounded 
near  here,"  and  another  told  that  Gen.  0.  B.  Wilcox 
was  also  wounded  near  that  point.  Where  the  cele- 
brated Henry  House  stood  is  now  a  two-story  house, 
and  on  the  gate  is  a  board  from  which  one  learns 
that  fifty  cents  admission  is  charged.  Further  down 
our  road,  which  was  the  Sudley  Ford  road,  crossed 
the  pike  which  figured  so  extensively  in  both  battles 
leading  across  the  stone  bridge  over  Bull  Run,  past 
Centerville  to  Alexandria.  The  stone  house  has  been 
greatly  improved  by  new  mortar  and  a  metal  roof 
portico  in  front  makes  it  appear  to  great  advantage. 

PINE  THICKET  IS  GONE. 

The  pine  thicket  which  sheltered  the  Eighth  Geor- 
gia in  its  vain  attempt  to  stay  the  flank  movement 
of  McDowell  in  the  first  battle  has  disappeared,  but 
on  the  ridge  opposite  is  where  Bee  and  Bartow  fell 
and  a  little  further  off  is  the  place  where  Stonewall 
Jackson  acquired  the  name  now  and  forever  historic. 
At  the  intersection  of  the  roads  were  some  people 
talking.  The  brothers  of  a  Mrs.  Browne  had  come 
from  Florida  to  view  the  ground  and  on  horseback 
was  W.  L.  B.  Wheeler,  whose  eighty-four  years  had 
been  spent  on  his  farm  near  this  spot.  Our  regi- 
ment spent  part  of  the  winter  of  '61-2  on  the  land 
of  Preston  Smith  adjoining  his  farm.  He  remem- 
bered and  called  by  name  several  of  the  officers  and 
privates  of  my  regiment,  among  them  Colonel  Sem- 
mes,  afterwards  brigadier;  Lieutenant  Holmes,  af- 
terwards colonel,  and  Henry  Milsap  of  Burke  coun- 
ty, Ga.  He  had  been  compelled  to  go  as  a  witness  to 
the  court  martial  of  Fitz  John  Porter,  whose  divis- 
ion had  been  formed  through  his  yard  in  the  second 


158      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

battle,  and  who  was  condemned  to  death  for  alleged 
refusal  to  obey  Pope's  celebrated  4  p.  m.  order  to 
attack  Johnson's  right  flank,  when  Longstreet  had 
superior  numbers  in  the  way. 

When  I  tried  to  describe  the  place  where  I  was 
wounded,  he  told  me  that  owing  to  wire  fences  it 
would  be  hard  to  get  there,  and  like  the  hospitable 
Virginian  took  it  for  granted  I  was  to  take  dinner 
with  him.  He  had  started  to  Sudley  church,  but  talk 
detained  him  until  the  people  returning  from  church 
came  past  us,  and  we  drove  southward  on  the  pike, 
now  a  wretched  road,  as  the  rocks  have  scattered  in 
all  direction.  Groveton  is  just  one  and  one-eighth 
miles  from  the  stone  house,  and  here  another  private 
road  intersects.  On  the  way  is  a  neat  substantial 
iron-fenced  cemetery,  the  inscription  on  the  gate  be 
ing,  "Confederate  dead,  1861-1862."  There  is  only 
one  grave  marked  in  the  inclosure.  It  was  that  of 
" James  J.  Palmer,  S.  C,  killed  Aug.  30,  1862."  There 
are  over  five  hundred  buried  in  the  cemetery,  and 
the  cost  was  borne  by  an  association  of  the  Daugh- 
ters of  the  Confederacy. 

GROVETON. 

Groveton  has  but  two  dwellings — one  a  new  cot- 
tage, the  other  the  old  house  at  which  Longstreet  took 
his  breakfast  the  day  of  the  battle  in  1862. 
A  woman  was  killed  and  a  child  wounded  in 
the  house  that  day.  The  buildings  yet  bear  marks 
of  cannon  and  rifle  shot.  The  people  of  the  house 
had  just  been  to  Sudley  church,  and,  with  the  Meth- 
odist preacher,  were  at  dinner.  On  my  inquiry  if  I 
and  the  boy  driver  could  get  dinner,  I  received  from 
the  hostess  the  usual  Virginia  invitation,  "Certainly, 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      159 

sit  right  down."  There  was  an  abundance  of  chick- 
en apple  sauce,  etc.,  but  when  I  came  to  pay  the 
bill  I  was  mortified  to  meet  her  refusal  to  take  any- 
thing from  a  Confederate,  but  I  compromised  by 
leaving  something  for  the  Confederate  cemetery.  The 
name  of  my  hostess  was  Mrs.  M.  E.  Dogan,  born  at 
Sudley  Ford,  where  McDowell  crossed  in  '61  on  his 
flank  movement,  and  moving  to  Groveton  after  the 
war.  She  owned  the  surrounding  land,  including  the 
old  railroad  cut  behind  which  Jackson's  men  fought 
for  three  days  in  '62.  On  her  land  some  Northern- 
ers had  erected  a  monument  inscribed,  "To  the  pa- 
trotic  dead  who  fought  here,"  but  somebody  has 
carved  "Confederate"  before  the  word  "dead."  Giv- 
ing me  particular  directions  as  to  wire  fences  and 
gates,  I  left  the  good  woman — so  typical  of  the  splen- 
did Virginia  hospitality,  the  remembrance  of  which 
yet  warms  the  hearts  of  men  who  fought  with  Lee. 

After  a  time,  with  much  opening  of  gates,  I  came 
to  the  spot  where  I  was  wounded  in  August,  '62. 
There  was  the  little  branch  flowing  over  stones,  the 
hills,  the  bottom,  the  gulley  where  I  lay  after  my 
hand  was  tied  up,  and  in  the  distance  the  crest  over 
which  Toombs'  brigade  and  the  Washington  artillery 
charged.  All  was  correct  but  the  Chinn  house  where 
I  lay  in  the  portico.  Through  another  gate  I  went 
there,  and  the  clever  Virginian  informed  me  that  the 
house  had  been  burned  since  the  war,  and  the  hand- 
some new  house  faced  in  a  different  direction.  I 
found  the  well  which  had  been  filled,  and  knew  my 
bearings  perfectly  then.  When  we  came  near  the 
field  from  Manassas  Gap  in  the  morning,  our  bri- 
gade was  thrown  out  to  oppose  Fitz  John  Porter, 
and  with  the  skirmishers  I  lay  in  an  apple  orchard 
beyond  the  crest  overlooking  the     battlefield,     for 


160      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

about  twenty-seven  hours.  Rosser  brought  up  his 
battery  near  the  house,  and  about  4  p.  m.  of  the  last 
day  opened  on  the  enemy  near  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  distant.  Out  of  the  house  came  a  pale  woman 
carrying  an  infant  screaming  as  if  the  day  of  judg- 
ment had  come.  Behind  her  came  a  succession  of 
children  from  two  to  fourteen  years,  all  screaming. 
Ferguson  and  I,  throwing  down  our  guns,  took  up 
some  infants  and  ran  to  the  rear  with  them.  The 
poor  woman  bandaged  my  hand  that  night,  but  I 
can  find  no  trace  of  her  now.  The  house  was  after- 
wards burned. 

CHARGED  POPE'S  LEFT. 

From  this  we  charged  Pope's  left,  and  Rosser  kept 
two  of  his  guns  constantly  in  front  of  us  till  we 
struck  a  New  York  Brigade  near  the  Chinn  house. 
My  brigade,  after  I  was  wounded  chased  the  enemy 
nearly  a  mile  to  the  Henry  house  until  dark,  over 
much  the  same  ground  that  Kirby  Smith  traversed 
when  he  so  opportunely  appeared  in  the  battle  of 
July,  1861.  Of  course  there  has  been  some  clearing 
done  in  places,  in  others  the  trees  have  grown  much 
in  41  years,  but  the  stone  house,  the  pike,  Young's 
branch,  the  hills  and  the  valleys  are  but  little  altered. 
The  wire  fences  make  it  difficult  to  get  about  except 
on  roads.  There  is  an  effort  being  made  to  have  the 
government  convert  the  grounds  into  a  national  park, 
but  since  the  northern  army  suffered  two  defeats  on 
that  field,  the  ruling  party  does  not  seem  to  care  so 
much  for  monuments  there  as  at  Gettysburg  where 
for  the  first  time  Lee's  army  was  barely  prevented 
from  obtaining  victory.  It  is  not  strange  that  they 
love  the  frowning  heights  of  Culp's  Hill,  Round  Top 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      161 

and  the  boulders  of  Devil's  Den,  which  saved  the 
northern  army  from  defeat,  better  than  the  plains 
of  Manassas  where  nature  opposed  no  obstacle  in 
its  favor.  The  postoffice  near  the  battlefield  is 
named  Wellington,  a  station  on  the  Manassas  Gap 
R.  R.,  which  now  runs  to  Harrisonburg. 

There  are  no  monuments  beside  those  mentioned 
on  the  field.  The  little  marble  column  erected  to 
Bartow,  where  he  fell,  near  the  Henry  House,  disap- 
peared piece-meal  from  the  attacks  of  the  relic 
hunters  before  the  second  battle  was  fought. 

In  a  few  years  none  will  be  left  to  point  out  the 
positions  of  regiments  in  the  respective  battles.  The 
Fifteenth  Alabama  occupied  the  old  railroad  and  so 
severely  were  they  pressed  that  clubbed  guns  and 
rocks  were  freely  used  by  both  sides.  The  federal 
color  bearers  waved  their  flags  over  the  heads  of 
our  men  and  in  one  place  broke  through  the  line.  Ask 
any  of  that  regiment  and  they  will  tell  you  of  the 
shouts  that  went  up  when  Longstreet's  cannon  told 
that  help  had  come  to  save  Jackson's  men  from  the 
overwhelming  numbers  which  Pope  had  thrown 
against  them  for  three  days.  An  eye  witness  tells  me 
that  he  was  present  when  Longstreet,  from  the  hills 
nears  Groveton,  saw  three  lines  of  battle  march 
against  Jackson,  and  ordered  up  the  artillery,  telling 
them  to  fire  into  the  rear  line.  My  informant  climbed 
a  persimmon  tree  and  saw  the  line  waver  and  break, 
for  it  was  an  enfilade  fire,  which  no  troops  can  re- 
sist Then  came  the  order  to  fire  into  the  second  line, 
which  broke  and  fled.  The  first  line  met  such  a 
fire  from  the  front  that  it  soon  followed  the  others. 


162      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

TURNING  POINT. 

Mr.  Wheeler  also  saw  the  turning  point  of  the  bat- 
tle, when  we  got  there  just  in  time  to  keep  Jackson 
from  being  overwhelmed.  From  our  position  we 
could  not  see  the  fight,  but  far  into  the  night  we 
heard  the  yells  of  the  Texans  as  they  drove  the  Zou- 
aves and  the  red  jackets  and  caps  of  the  latter  made 
the  field  look  like  a  garden  of  flowers  the  next  day. 
I  rode  to  Manassas  in  a  day  coach  with  some  whole- 
souled  Virginia  gentleman,  who  could  and  did  tell 
me  things — what  crops  they  made,  how  they  bought 
and  fattened  cattle  for  the  Baltimore  market,  of  their 
bird  dogs,  blooded  cows  and  horses,  of  their  daily 
life,  and  through  it  all  was  that  immense  pride  in 
old  Virginia,  the  pride  that  makes  and  keeps  them 
gentlemen  of  the  old  school. 

The  contractors  who  are  double-tracking  the 
Southern  from  Washington  to  Orange  have  about 
2,500  negroes  from  Birmingham  and  Montgomery  in 
their  employ,  and  in  places  work  night  shifts  by  elec- 
tric lights. 

The  Virginians  say  that  our  Alabama  darkies  are 
hard  cases,  who  fight  with  razors,  get  drunk,  shoot 
craps,  and  cut  up  in  a  surprising  way.  One  went  to 
a  farmer  whose  home  is  on  the  battlefield  of  Brandy 
Station  and  wanted  work.  When  he  asked  what  he 
could  do  on  a  farm,  he  said  he  could  pick  cotton,  al- 
though there  was  none  in  a  hundred  miles.  I  as- 
sured them  that  the  contractors  usually  got  the  riff 
raff  from  the  cities,  and  we  hope  they  would  send 
them  to  their  bosom  friends  in  Boston. 

The  sublime  superiority  in  wisdom  and  morals  of 
some  of  these  negro  pholists  prevents  them  seeing 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      163 

that  their  ill-timed  and  unwise  efforts  to  destroy 
racial  feeling  hurt  the  negro.  About  1872-3  negroes 
became  so  wrought  up  by  the  "God  and  Morality" 
teachers,  that  they  became  unbearably  insolent. 

In  Hayneville,  the  young  buck  negroes  would  lock 
arms  and  refuse  to  give  up  the  sidewalk  to  whites 
meeting  them.  A  gentleman  of  this  city,  then  living 
in  Montgomery,  tells  me  that  escorting  his  sister  to 
church  "on  Sunday,  he  was  compelled  to  carry  a  pis- 
tol in  his  hand.  Four  or  five  buck  negroes  would 
lock  arms  across  the  sidewalk,  and  make  white  ladies 
and  their  escorts  take  the  gutter. 

The  result  was,  that  a  number  of  foolish  negroes 
lost  their  lives,  and  the  trouble  subsided.  When  Mc- 
Kinley  appointed  negro  postmasters  in  little  villages 
in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  where  little  girls  and 
women  had  to  come  in  contact  with  thick-lipped  Af- 
ricans, some  other  negroes  lost  their  lives.  The  ne- 
gro, Indian  and  Chinaman  always  get  the  hot  end  of 
the  poker  in  conflicts  with  the  Caucasian. 

When  pyramids,  and  such  are  the  races  of  men, 
come  in  collision,  their  bases  first  meet,  and  it  is  in 
the  lower  strata,  the  foundation  stones,  where  the 
prejudice,  if  you  call  it  such,  is  strongest.  Half  the 
Indian  wars  were  caused  by  unruly  whites,  and  most 
negro  riots  originate  with  the  unruly  classes  of  both 
races,  although  the  negro  is  inspired  by  the  teachings 
of  men  near  the  top  of  the  white  pyramid  to  claim 
more  than  nature,  education  or  position  give  them. 
The  new  crusade  will  cause  some  more  foolish  ne- 
groes to  lose  their  lives  and  the  wheels  of  progress 
will  move  along  in  their  destined  way,  and  the  Con- 
federate and  his  posterity  will  cling  to  the  faith  that 
this  country  ought  to  be  ruled  by  the  white  man. 
Northerners  who  live  among  us,  and  who  are  not 


164      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

here  for  politics,  are  of  the  same  opinion,  only  that 
they  out-Herod    Herod  and  are    less  patient  than 
we,  with  the  brother  in  black. 

There  is  one  feature  of  soldier  life  which  has  both 
a  sad  and  ludicous  side.  I  refer  to  straggling.  Even 
in  the  best  disciplined  armies,  well  fed  and  clad,  there 
are  men  who  will  slip  out  into  the  woods  or  darkness, 
cut  across  the  country  and  forage  for  buttermilk  and 
dainties  as  well  as  substantials.  Although  we  had 
rear  guards,  provost  guards,  and  all  the  machinery, 
one  can  well  believe  that  the  soldiers  who  were  sel- 
dom well  fed  or  clad  would  with  the  best  intentions 
and  under  lax  discipline,  leave  the  ranks  and  hunt 
for  food.  They  seemed  to  know  by  instinct  the  by 
ways  and  nigh  cuts,  and  on  the  march  from  some 
high  hill,  we  could  see  streams  of  them  going  to  the 
houses,  never  afraid  of  dogs,  for  the  latter  seemed 
awed  into  submission,  and  always  approaching  the 
back  door  like  a  tramp  for  that  was  the  nearest  way 
to  the  pantry  or  kitchen.  Usually  they  got  all  the 
cold  victuals  and  buttermilk  about  the  hous^,  some- 
times a  ham,  live  fowls,  apple  butter  or  honey,  but 
after  Virginia  had  been  harried  by  both  armies,  new 
plans  had  to  be  invented  to  coax  food  from  those  pa- 
triotic and  splendid  Virginia  women.  Generally  the 
straggler  wanted  something  for  his  "sick  captain," 
and  for  a  long  time  that  was  a  winning  dodge.  Some- 
times when  there  were  no  eatables  in  the  house  the 
straggler  would  accomodatingly  wait  all  night,  as- 
sured that  the  family  would  borrow  a  meal  some- 
where, perhaps  from  hidden  stores.  Whilst  we  lay 
famishing  for  days  in  Maryland  with  the  unfavor- 
able Potomac  at  our  backs,  the  boys  would  take  their 
ramrods  and  probe  into  the  gardens  and  discover 
cans  of  preserves,  apple  butter,  and  other  good  things 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      165 

buried  against  the  coming  of  such  visitors.  It  is  a 
wonder,  that  with  so  much  straggling,  our  comman- 
ders could  count  their  forces  for  battle,  but  on  the 
first  sound  of  cannon  the  noble  army  of  stragglers 
would  hasten  their  steps,  and  inquire  for  the  where- 
abouts of  their  respective  commands,  and  go  in  to 
dare  and  to  die.  As  we  lay  the  third  day  on  a  knob 
under  a  heavy  fire  from  Little  Round  Top  at  Gettys- 
burg, the  enemy's  cavalry  charged  around  our  right 
into  the  wheat  field  in  our  rear.  With  shouts  and 
waving  of  sabers  which  flashed  in  the  July  sun,  they 
came  on  gallantly.  We  gathered  and  loaded  all  the 
scattered  guns  left  around  us  by  dead  friends  or  foes, 
and  prepared  to  fight  front  and  rear.  The  captain 
of  an  Augusta  (Ga.)  battery  charged  down  on  the 
cavalry  with  his  guns  pouring  in  rounds  of  cannis- 
ter.  Then  the  nobility  of  the  straggler  shone  forth. 
From  every  rock?  and  shade  and  brush,  and  out  of 
the  wheat,  could  be  seen  little  puffs  of  smoke,  where 
the  straggler,  angry  that  mere  cavalry  disturbed  his 
repose,  was  pouring  in  his  fire.  The  federal  com- 
mander, Colonel whose  commission  as  briga- 
dier general  came  next  day,  was  shot  down  by  a 
straggler,  and  when  two  of  them  tried  to  take  him, 
he  wounded  one  with  his  pistol,  and  was  killed  by 
the  other.  The  Fourth  Alabama  was  faced  about, 
went  to  the  edge  of  the  field,  gave  the  federals  one 
volley,  and  the  survivors  fled.  The  whole  was  as  dis- 
tinctly seen  by  us  as  the  actors  on  the  stage  of  the 
theater,  and  honors  seemed  to  be  equally  divided 
among  the  artillery,  the  Fourth  Alabama,  and  the 
stragglers,  as  every  one  of  the  latter  I  saw  was  run- 
ning towards  the  enemy  and  firing  as  fast  as  he  could 
load. 


166      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Two  of  the  fraternity  tried  all  their  powers  of  per- 
suasion on  an  obdurate  old  woman,  but  could  get  no 
eatables,  positively,  she  had  not  a  thing  eevn  for  her 
own  people.  Finally  one  of  them  asked  to  be  allow- 
ed to  make  some  rock  soup  which  aroused  her  curi- 
osity, and  permission  was  given.  A  few  small  rocks 
were  nicely  washed,  put  into  a  kettle  of  water,  and 
set  on  the  fire.  When  nearly  boiling  they  asked  for 
a  pinch  of  salt,  which  the  old  lady  gave  them,  then 
they  wanted  just  a  little  lard  or  butter  and  it  was 
furnished.  After  the  mixture  was  stirred  awhile, 
they  wanted  a  little  flour  or  meat  with  which  addi- 
tion they  had  a  tolerable  dish  of  "rock  soup"  to  the 
great  surprise  of  the  good  woman.  Of  course  all  of 
us  occasionally  shared  in  the  results  of  these  forag- 
ing expeditions,  even  though  procured  for  "my  sick 
captain."  If  one  is  very  hungry  his  conscience  does 
not  discriminate  so  nicely  as  does  that  of  the  well- 
fed  preacher.  It  is  the  cold  truth  too,  to  say  that 
many  times  the  owner  was  not  consulted  about  the 
disposition  of  his  property,  and  if  a  straggler  came 
in  with  a  piece  of  fat  hog  still  warm  and  the  hair  on 
it,  he  would  say  in  explaining,  that  the  hog  tried  to 
"bite"  him,  and  wear  a  very  meek  expression,  as  if 
it  had  been  painful  for  him  to  strike  in  self  defense. 
A  fish  hook  baited  with  a  grain  of  corn,  and  proper- 
ly attached  to  a  line  thrown  into  a  farm  yard,  often 
caused  a  very  unwilling  fowl  to  follow  a  very  inno- 
cent-looking straggler  off  to  camp,  and  suffering 
cows  were  often  relieved  of  their  milk  by  sympathet- 
ic soldiers  who  longed  for  home  comforts.  I  saw  one 
milked  into  a  canteen,  no  other  vessel  being  in  reach. 

I  never  tried  straggling  but  three  times.  Down  in 
the  edge  of  Dismal  Swamp,  N.  C,  Joe  Bathune  and  I 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      167 

went  to  a  country  house,  were  invited  all  dirty  and 
unkempt  into  the  parlor,  and  presently  a  most  charm- 
ing woman,  dressed  in  silk,  with  manners  which 
would  have  graced  a  queen,  came  in,  and  we  were 
greatly  abashed  to  tell  her  that  we  wanted  dinner, 
and  Joe  had  to  do  the  talking.  We  were  treated  to 
an  elegant  dinner,  but  I  have  never  recovered  from 
the  self  abasement  I  felt  on  that  occasion.  She  was 
a  graduate  of  Salem  college,  and  performed  beauti- 
fully at  the  piano,  as  Joe  said,  and  his  father  was  the 
owner  of  Blind  Tom.  Another  time  I  set  out,  walked 
miles,  failed  to  get  any  food,  returned  to  find  the 
command  gone,  and  hunger,  fatigue  and  heat  nearly 
overcame  me  before  I  caught  up,  and  we  had  to  go 
twenty-five  miles  further  without  food  or  halt.  I 
slept  walking  that  night,  that  is  for  an  instant  or 
two,  maybe  longer.  I  lost  consciousness  as  we  made 
our  weary  way,  and  again  I  would  have  stolen  bread 
if  there  had  been  bread  to  steal.  This  completed  my 
personal  experiences  in  straggling. 

From  accounts  it  seems  that  discipline  among  the 
cavalry  that  served  in  North  Alabama  was  lax,  and 
tales  of  the  "buttermilk  rangers"  were  common 
enough.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  efficiency 
of  our  armies  was  greatly  lessened  by  straggling, 
but  when  one  remembers  the  scant  rations,  the  won- 
der is  that  more  of  it  was  not  done. 

But  the  most  unfortunate,  and  sometimes  very  se- 
rious evil  arose  in  the  moment  of  victory.  During  an 
attack  on  the  enemy  when  they  would  be  flying  in 
haste,  some  of  our  men  would  stop  to  gather  the 
spoils,  in  the  way  of  eatables,  clothing,  blankets, 
canteens,  etc.,  and  thus  time  would  give  for  the  ene- 
my to  form  or  bring  up  reinforcements. 


168      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Early's  attack  on  Sheridan's  army  at  Fisher's  Hill, 
October  19,  1864,  was  a  complete  success.  The  sleep- 
ing enemy  were  aroused  and  fled  in  dismay,  but  the 
cooks  were  preparing  the  morning  meal,  and  the 
smell  of  the  hot  coffe  and  fried  bacon  was  too  much 
for  the  famished  heroes,  and  they  stopped  to  plunder. 
Commands,  curses,  entreaties  availed  not  to  get  close 
pursuit,  thus  giving  time  for  the  routed  foe  to  form 
another  line  and  Sheridan  to  come  from  Winches- 
ter. The  victory  was  turned  into  defeat,  and  Early 
lost  not  only  the  captured  cannon,  but  most  of  his 
men.  It  is  said  that  afterwards,  whilst  on  the  march, 
some  of  his  hungry  men  shouted  at  him,  "Rations!" 
and  his  reply  was,  "Fisher  Hill,  G-d  d-m  you."  Af- 
ter Appomatox,  I  asked  of  a  citizen  at  the  little  vil- 
lage of  Rocky  Mount,  Va.,  directions  to  go  to  Geor- 
gia, and  he  pointed  out  a  man  dressed  in  citizens 
clothes  heavily  bearded,  with  a  slouch  hat  sitting  on 
the  steps  of  a  closed  law  office.  He  took  a 
pencil  and  gave  me  a  way  bill  of  the  prin- 
cipal    roads,     ferries     and     towns     on     the     way 

When  I  thanked  him,  he  raised  his  head,  and  I 
saw  the  eyes  of  the  magnificently  brave  Early,  Lee's 
trusted  Lieutenant.  I  thought  of  Marius  sitting 
„amid  the  ruins  of  Carthage. 

Rocky  Mount  was  Early's  home.  With  the  aid  of 
Iris  directions,  I  made  my  way  along  the  eastern  slope 
of  the  Blue  Ridge,  sustained  by  the  aid  of  poor,  but 
worthy  people,  who  had  little  to  give  except  corn 
bread,  buttermilk,  and  occasionally  fried  eschalots, 
all  of  which  I  like  yet,  perhaps  because  country  bred, 
perhaps  because  of  gratitude.  Bill  Young  of  the 
Seventeenth  Georgia  was  my  companion,  and  we 
crossed  the  Yadkin,  the  Congaree  and  the  Catawaba, 
tramping  till  nightfall,  resting  on  oilcloths  captured 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      169 

in  by-gone  fights,  by  little  camp-fires,  to  be  off  at 
early  dawn,  tramping  again  until  some  house  was 
found  to  give  an  homely  and  scant  breakfast.  In  or- 
der to  reach  Spartanburg,  S.  C,  we  must  go  over  for- 
ty-four miles  in  one  day.  About  sundown  Young 
went  to  a  house  near  the  road  and  brought  back  a 
canteen  and  a  quart  cup  filled  with  buttermilk.  I 
took  a  sip  or  two,  and  against  my  protest  he  emptied 
the  cup  and  before  we  had  gone  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
he  showed  the  same  symptoms  as  a  foundered  horse. 
I  assisted  him  to  the  next  house,  a  painted  one,  too, 
and  the  good  Samaritans  doctored  Young,  put  us, 
against  our  protests,  in  a  feather  bed,  and  before  day 
we  were  off  in  time  to  catch  the  first  train  over  the 
fragment  of  a  railroad  Sherman  had  partially  de- 
stroyed, but  which,  although  pointed  to  Charleston, 
carried  us  nearer  home  and  gave  Young  a  chance  to 
recover  from  "foundering,"  as  I  shall  always  contend 
it  was.  Traveling  part  of  the  day,  we  walked  across 
to  strike  another  fragment  of  railroad  which  took  us 
to  Abbeville,  from  which  we  walked  forty-two  miles 
to  Washington,  Ga.  On  the  way  we  met  trains  of 
wagons  drawn  by  Confederate  mules,  fat  and  sleek. 
We  should  have  taken  a  pair  or  a  dozen  then  and 
there,  but  the  sense  of  discipline  was  still  strong  and 
we  left  them  to  be  surrendered. 

Young  left  me  to  go  to  his  Georgia  home,  and  I 
have  never  heard  of  him  since,  whilst  I  went  on  to 
Alabama  to  meet  relatives,  friends,  reconstruction, 
carpet-baggers,  and  had  not  a  dollar  in  the  world. 

But  I  never  will  forget  the  kindness  of  those  home- 
spun people  along  that  road,  who  divided  their  food 
with  us.  There  is  not  one  of  Lee's  army  today  who 
will  not  give  all  praise  to  the  noble,  generous  hos- 
pitable Virginians  who  shared  their  all  with  the  hun- 


170      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

gry  soldier.  I  never  entered  a  private  house  in  Rich- 
mond, nor  knew  a  citizen,  but  sick  comrades  told 
such  tales  of  their  pitying  kindness,  their  whole- 
souled  hospitality,  that  we  loved  the  town,  and  may- 
be loved  it  more  because  the  yankees  hated  it  so 
much.  If  love  was  shown  by  toil  and  sweat  and 
blood,  then,  indeed,  you  may  know  we  loved  Rich- 
mond on  the  James.  More  than  half  the  hurts  I 
got  were  within  sight  or  sound  of  cannon  of  the  be- 
sieged city.  The  remembrance  of  that  long  tramp 
when  six  hundred  miles  away  from  home,  without  a 
dollar,  without  food,  ragged  and  dirty,  I  found  chari- 
ty among  the  poverty  stricken  people,  makes  my 
heart  warm  towards  the  forlorn  tramp  who  says  he 
is  hungry.  In  many  years  law  practice  of  a  varied 
sort,  I  have  never  cried  in  the  court  house  but  twice, 
and  one  of  the  times  was  when,  without  fee,  I  was 
making  an  appeal  for  a  forlorn  tramp,  convicted  by 
an  over-righteous  justice  because  he  asked  for 
bread.  Telling  the  court  that  I,  too  had  once  beg- 
ged for  bread,  I  looked  up  and  the  tears  were  cours- 
ing down  the  cheeks  of  the  old  judge,  and  the  speak- 
er lost  his  voice  in  sobs.  The  tramp  got  free,  even 
the  negro  constable  who  guarded  him,  contributing 
his  mite  to  feed  and  send  him  on  his  way. 

When,  in  1864,  we  heard  that  Sheridan  was  burn- 
ing all  the  mills  in  the  valley  and  shooting  the  milch 
cows,  the  only  hope  for  sustenance  for  innocent 
babes,  there  were  deep  curses  from  men  who  had 
been  hospitably  treated  by  these  people,  and  a  darker 
page  might  have  been  added  to  history  had  the  brute 
who  boasted  that  "a  crow  must  carry  his  rations  if 
he  flew  over  the  valley,'  fallen  into  the  hands  of  our 
indignant  men.     Doubtless  he  was  seeking  revenge 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      171 

fcr  that  day  at  Chickamauga,  when  his  division  ran 
in  wild  flight,  throwing  away  their  guns  and  knap- 
sacks. He  was  on  the  winning  side,  hated  the  south, 
got  promoted,  and  praise  in  books  written  then,  but 
a  hundred  years  hence  history  will  give  him  his  just 
deserts. 

As  the  war  progressed,  every  able  bodied  man  be- 
tween the  ages  of  16  and  50  was  required  to  do  mili- 
tary service,  so  that  our  ranks  contained  men  of 
every  kind,  profession  and  calling.  One  man  too  old 
for  conscripton  came  as  a  substitute  for  a  comrade 
who  wanted  to  be  transferred  to  cavalry,  as  also  did 
another,  Martin  Etter  by  name,  from  Rogersville, 
Tenn.  These  two  old  men  thrown  with  a  set  of  young- 
sters, already  inured  to  hard  campaigning,  had  to 
endure  a  lot  of  chaffing  and  ridicule,  but  they  were 
the  most  patient  men  I  ever  "saw,  and  certainly  made 
faithful  soldiers. 

They  would  get  up  early  in  the  morning  and  build 
good  fires,  fetch  water  and  have  everything  ready 
for  the  young  men  who  slept  late  to  get  up  and  cook 
breakfast  for  they  always  insisted  on  the  veterans 
doing  the  cooking,  but  they  would  wait  on  us  and  help 
all  they  could,  and  were  just  as  kind  and  faithful  as 
we  would  let  them  be.  Now  and  then  one  of  the 
youngsters  would  overstep  the  bounds  in  his  deviltry, 
and  the  old  men  would  give  him  a  tongue  lashing 
which  would  put  a  quietus  on  us  for  a  while.  One  of 
them  was  the  most  deliberate  man  in  battle  I  ever 
saw.  He  would  load  and  cap  his  gun  in  his  own 
way,  and  then  take  a  most  deliberate  aim,  just  as  if 
drawing  a  bead  on  a  squirrel  and  fire  away. 

One  was  hurt  in  the  tumult  of  the  last  day  at  Pe- 
tersburg, the  other  surrendered  at  Appomattox,  and 
I  never  heard  of  either  since.    God  rest  their  souls, 


172      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

for  they  were  brave,  kindly  and  patient,  and  made 
few  complaints,  but  their  old  bones  could  not  rest 
well  on  the  hard  ground,  and  many  a  time  have  they 
got  up  in  the  silent  watches  of  the  cold  night  and  re- 
plenished the  fires  which  kept  their  "unruly  boys" 
as  they  called  us,  from  freezing. 

CARTRIDGE  BOX  FOR  PILLOW. 

We  generally  slept  in  our  clothes,  taking  off  our 
shoes  with  a  cartridge  box  for  a  pillow.  If  we  had 
time  we  would  cut  off  little  cedar  or  pine  twigs  and 
spread  them  on  the  ground  to  make  our  pallets  soft- 
er and  lay  with  our  feet  to  the  fire.  But  our  negro 
attendants,  so  long  as  we  had  them,  reversed  this 
position.  They  invariably  slept  with  their  heads  to 
the  fire,  a  blanket,  if  they  had  any,  wrapped  about 
their  heads  and  shoulders,  and  feet  out  in  the  cold, 
sometimes  in  the  snow,  away  from  the  fire. 

We  used  to  discuss  the  matter,  but  I  never  heard 
a  satisfactory  reason  why  the  negro  with  a  thicker 
skull  and  larger  feet  than  the  white  man,  should  put 
his  head  next  to  the  fire.  Perhaps  he  is  built  that 
way  and  cannot  help  it. 

These  colored  men  were  great  foragers  and 
brought  in  many  eatables,  but  on  hot  days,  whilst 
water  was  difficult  to  obtain  on  the  march,  they 
would  often  bring  cool  water  to  us  in  their  canteens. 
If  you  go  to  reunions  you  will  frequently  see  some 
of  these  faithful  men,  wearing  Confederate  badges, 
marching  with  their  old  masters  and  proud  of  the 
attention  shown  them.  Whilst  every  able  bodied 
man  was  in  the  army  the  colored  man  guarded  his 
master's  home,  wife  and  children  and  raised  crops 
to  feed  them  and  the  army. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      173 

When  Wilson's  raid  passed  through  Lowndes  coun- 
ty, some  of  his  followers  hung  a  colored  man  to  whom 
the  jewelry  had  been  entrusted  for  safe  keeping,  and 
his  life  was  taken  by  thieving  murderers  because  he 
was  faithful  to  his  trust.  For  many  years  the  only 
marble  tombstone  over  a  colored  man  in  the  country 
marked  his  grave  as  a  testimonial  from  his  master, 
Capt.  William  May,  to  his  fidelity.  Another  buried 
all  the  family  watches  and  jewelry  in  a  plum  or- 
chard, and  after  the  raid  passed  restored  them  to  his 
mistress.  For  many  years  and  many  a  time  his  mas- 
ter or  I  would  have  to  go  and  carry  some  little  dainty, 
and  inquire  how  Frank  Streety  was  when  sick.  There 
was  no  use  to  suggest  that  a  servant  might  be  sent ; 
the  mistress  of  the  house  would  not  have  any  but  a 
white  messenger,  no  matter  how  weary  he  might  be. 

TORTURED  OLD  MAN. 

The  same  raiders  went  to  the  farm  of  John  Bragg, 
brother  of  the  general,  a  circuit  judge,  old  and  non- 
combatant.  They  hung  him  till  he  was  breathless 
three  times  in  the  effort  to  make  him  reveal  where 
his  hoard  of  gold  was  concealed.  He  had  none,  but 
each  time,  with  returning  breath,  the  old  man  cursed 
the  robbers  with  all  the  bitterness  he  could  command. 
They  left  him,  taking  a  meal  bag  full  of  his  silver 
plate,  and  divided  it  in  Grandma  Mary  McCall's  yard. 
She  went  out  and  witnessed  the  division,  and  recog- 
nized the  silver  off  which  she  had  dined  many  a  time. 

A  party  under  the  leadership  of  a  commissioned 
officer,  left  Montgomery  and  went  to  Wetumpka, 
seeking  Howell  Rose,  reputed  to  have  a  great  store 
of  gold.     In  fact  he  had  entrusted  $15,000  to  each 


174      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

of  two  neighbors,  keeping  a  like  amount,  and  each 
hoard  was  buried. 

They  siezed  him  at  night  in  his  own  house,  hung 
and  otherwise  maltreated  him,  but  remaining  obdur- 
ate, they  stripped  him,  burnt  splinters  of  pine  till 
the  ends  were  fiery  coals  and  bored  holes  in  his  flesh 
with  the  live  coals. 

Failing  to  gain  the  desired  information  they  left 
him  more  dead  than  alive,  and  whilst  passing 
through  a  ravine  on  their  return  some  crippled  and 
furloughed  soldiers  waylaid  them  and  mortally 
wounded  the  officer.  A  force  was  sent  from  Mont- 
gomery to  revenge  this  outrage  on  union  soldiers,  but 
the  commander  happened  to  be  a  man  and  not  a  thief, 
and  visited  the  dying  robber  in  the  warehouse  where 
the  citizens  had  removed  him,  and  told  him  that  he 
was  a  disgrace  to  the  uniform  he  wore.  Faithful 
slaves  had  given  warning  and  enabled  the  cripples  to 
avenge  this  outrage. 

I  have  before  me  a  copy  of  a  letter,  dated  Febru- 
ary 25,  1865,  by  Lieut.  Thomas  I.  Myers,  to  his  wife 
in  Boston,  in  which  he  says  he  has  about  a  quart  of 
jewelry,  some  No.  1  diamonds,  pins  and  rings  among 
them,  "for  you  and  the  girls,"  and  tells  how  the  offi- 
cers dressed  in  citizens  clothes  when  on  their  expe- 
ditions of  robbery,  and  tells  further  how  the  "d — d 
niggers"  preferred  to  stay  at  home. 

THE  CONTRAST. 

Now  when  we  were  in  the  enemy's  country  in 
Pennsylvania,  there  were  the  strictest  orders  against 
any  tresspassing  on  private  property.  One  man  had 
locked  his  pump  handle,  but  the  butt  of  a  musket 
smashed  the  lock  and  we  got  water.     The  women 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      175 

lined  the  main  street  of  Greencastle  as  we  marched 
through,  and  waived  their  union  flags  and  said  a 
good  many  things,  but  the  boys  chaffed  at  them  and 
had  them  all  laughing.  One  buxom  miss  had  a  flag 
pinned  on  her  bosom  ,and  a  grizzled  Texan  called  out 
to  her  to  take  it  off,  "Foi,"  said  he,  "we  always 
take  breastworks  with  the  flag  on  them."  The  roar 
of  laughter  and  shouts  ran  far  down  the  line,  and 
when  we  of  the  next  brigade  passed,  the  girl  was 
still  laughing,  pretty  and  defiant. 

I  climbed  a  great  cherry  laden  tree  and  was  help- 
ing myself,  when  two  women  came  out  and  talked 
and  gesticulated  violently,  but  as  they  spoke  in  Dutch 
I  knew  not  if  I  was  getting  curses  or  blessings,  but 
the  probabilities  were  strongly  against  the  latter. 

One  veteran  tells  me  that  whilst  in  a  cherry  tree 
a  woman  came  out  and  pelted  him  with  rocks  until  he 
fled  for  safety.    Those  cherries  were  tempting. 

One  day  whilst  camped  near  Chambersburg  a  very 
dirty  looking  boy  soldier  came  along  with  a  skeleton 
hoop  skirt  on.  Not  many  of  this  generation  ever  saw 
one,  but  your  grandmother  will  describe  it.  Some 
soldier  gave  me  a  white  straw  hat,  but  as  we  charged 
through  the  wheat  field  against  Little  Round  Top,  it 
was  too  conspicuous,  and  I  sailed  it  far  up  in  the  air. 

Our  mess  came  out  of  the  enemy's  country  with  i 
porcelain  lined  preserving  kettle,  which  boiled  our 
beef  through  Virginia  Chickamauga,  East  Tennes- 
see and  Virginia  again  until  the  surrender.  Doubt- 
less General  Lee's  order  was  disobeyed,  but  this  is 
all  the  sacking  or  robbery  I  saw  done,  and  such  a 
thing  as  maltreating  a  citizen  or  insulting  a  woman 
would  have  been  resented  in  no  mild  way  by  our  own 
men.  It  was  not  even  thought  of.  Bad  men  we  had, 
but  such  a  thing  as  systematic  robbery  of  jewelry 


176      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

could  not  have  been  done,  any  more  than  the  old  vet- 
erans would  now  engage  in  it. 

ACCEPTED  THE  RESULTS. 

Our  people  accepted  the  results  of  the  war,  the 
freedom  of  the  negro,  he  could  not  help,  and  they  had 
no  animosity  towards  him.  On  the  contrary  there 
was  the  best  of  feeling  for  the  industrious  blacks. 
But  soon  for  vile  purposes,  vile  men  instilled  into  the 
guillible  creature  that  he  must  have  "forty  acres  and 
a  mule"  and  soon  planters  in  the  black  belt  woke  up 
to  find  their  farms  staked  off  by  their  former  slaves 
Then  came  political  equality,  a  constitution  forced  on 
Alabama  despite  the  fact  that  General  Meade,  com- 
mander of  the  military  district,  reported  that  it  was 
defeated.  How  few  of  the  young  men  know  that 
hundreds  of  affidavits  were  made  that  the  negroes 
of  south  Lowndes  could  not  cross  the  icy  waters  of 
historic  Big  Swamp  in  order  to  vote  at  the  five  days' 
election,  and  congress,  in  the  mad  passion  of  the 
hour,  declared  the  new  constitution  the  law.  The  in- 
stigators of  those  affidavits  mostly  lived  and  died 
miserably,  but  they  held  high  carnival  for  a  time. 
Between  the  vile  men  who  thrived  on  negro  cred- 
ulity and  good,  but  mistaken  men,  who  made  ill-timed 
and  unwise  attempts  to  force  social  equality  on  the 
south,  there  was  caused  much  friction  in  places  and 
at  times  between  the  races,  which  could  have  been 
avoided  if  matters  had  been  allowed  to  take  their 
natural  course. 

I  think  the  southern  people  were  disposed  to  over- 
look the  robbery  and  vandalism  committed  by  North- 
ern soldiers,  knowing  that  there  were  such  men  as 
McClellan,  Rosecrans,  Meade,  Buell  and  Grant,  who 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      177 

neither  practiced  nor  protected  such  conduct,  but 
they  have  not  forgotten  nor  forgiven  the  efforts  to 
pass  force  bills  and  enforce  social  equality  with  the 
emancipated  race  by  the  worshippers  of  John  Brown. 

Twenty  years  ago  I  took  the  Independent,  which 
prides  itself  on  its  breadth  of  view  and  cultured  phil- 
osophy. For  an  unmanly  fling  at  Jeff  Davis  I  stop- 
ped the  paper,  though  the  editor  in  a  note,  said  he  re- 
gretted the  matter.  Last  year  I  subscribed  for  the 
paper  again,  and  in  the  second  number  was  a  brutal 
thrust  at  my  people  because  we  did  not  sit  in  the 
street  cars  and  in  church  with  the  negroes. 

Perhaps  we  should  not  be  incensed  at  these  little 
things,  but,  as  Senator  Vance  once  said  in  reply  to  a 
taunt  from  a  negro  lover  in  the  senate,  "Mr.  Pres- 
ident, the  gentleman  says  we  ought  not  to  notice  such 
small  things,  but  I  have  been  more  troubled  in  my 
life  by  fleas  than  by  elephants." 

PART  OF  HISTORY. 

Perhaps  these  things  are  not  strictly  in  line  with 
recollections  of  camp  life,  but  they  form  part  of  the 
history  of  the  Confederate  soldier,  whose  struggles 
for  the  supremacy  of  his  race,  will  shine  resplendent 
in  history,  when  the  recollection  of  his  valor  on 
bloody  fields  will  be  forgotten  and  the  monuments  to 
his  foes  shall  have  crumbled  into  dust.  England 
sought  to  dishonor  the  decaying  bones  of  Cromwell, 
her  greatest  son,  but  time,  which  sets  all  things 
even  has  seen  a  monument  erected  to  his  memory. 
The  feuds  and  wars  which  originated  in  the  British 
Isles  before  the  days  of  Julius  Caesar,  were  happily 
concluded  when  a  Scottish  king  inherited  and  sat 
on  the  throne  of  England,  but  the  traditions  of  bar- 


178      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

barious  deeds,  such  as  the  massacre  of  Glencoe,  yet 
live  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  on  the  border  land, 
and  the  fame  of  Flora  Macdonald's  devotion  to 
Charles  the  Pretender,  shines  with  a  purer  light  than 
that  of  the  bloody  Duke  of  Cumberland.  The  name 
of  the  Duke  of  Alva  is  still  used  as  a  bogy  to  frighten 
Dutch  children,  and  as  the  synonym  of  monster,  but 
the  heroism  of  the  people  who  cut  their  dykes  and 
caused  the  ocean  to  overwhelm  their  land  before 
they  would  surrender  their  religion  and  their  liberty, 
is  yet  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

So,  too,  the  grey  haired  Confederate  confidently 
believes  that  Father  Time,  the  great  leveler,  and 
Truth,  though  she  moves  with  leaden  feet,  will  pro- 
claim the  infamy  of  the  men  who  would  degrade 
themselves  and  their  race  by  miscegenation  and 
throw  a  halo  of  a  glorified  light  on  the  memory  of 
men  who  proudly  upheld  their  race  through  years  of 
misrule,  oppression,  hate  and  villification. 

From  constant  life  in  the  open  air,  for  after  the 
first  year  we  seldom  had  tents,  we  grew  to  be  weath- 
er wise.  When  we  got  ready  to  march  in  the  early 
morning,  if  the  fog  was  rising,  we  did  not  tie  our 
blankets,  but  threw  them  loosely  over  our  shoulders, 
confident  that  we  should  need  their  protection  from 
rain  before  eleven  o'clock.  If,  however,  the  fog  waa 
falling  to  the  earth,  each  blanket  was  rolled  up,  the 
ends  tied  together,  and  it  was  worn  horse-collar  fash- 
ion over  the  shoulder.  The  men  pulled  their  socks 
over  the  bottoms  of  the  legs  of  their  pantaloons  to 
fend  off  the  mud,  and  thus  equipped,  long  lines  of 
men  might  be  seen  on  the  march.  Some  of  the  mon- 
uments capped  with  a  life  sized  Confederate,  show  an 
exact  representation  of  the  soldier  thus  arrayed. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      179 

If  the  rain  came  whilst  on  the  march,  the  blanket 
was  folded  near  the  middle,  a  string  or  strap  passed 
through  and  tied  about  the  neck  and  the  owner  was 
kept  dry  to  his  knees.  I  do  not  think  that  I  was  com- 
pletely drenched  with  rain  half  a  dozen  times  during 
the  war,  and  I  did  not  own  an  umbrella  for  years 
afterwards  as  it  seemed  an  useless  sort  of  encum- 
brance, but  civilization  has  in  that  sort  rather  con- 
taminated me,  and  I  sometimes  carry  one,  though  I 
feel  like  apologizing  for  it  on  slight  provocation. 

IN  VIRGINIA. 

In  1861,  whilst  discipline  was  strict,  and  the  tents 
had  to  be  pitched  in  exact  line,  the  position  of  one 
mess  at  Acquia  Creek,  fell  in  a  gully,  and  the  boys 
filled  up  to  a  level  the  space  with  fresh  earth.  One 
night  there  came  a  heavy  storm  of  rain,  and  a  good- 
sized  stream  washed  away  the  earth  and  tent,  and 
the  boys  had  to  run  to  other  tents  for  shelter.  Shoes, 
articles  of  clothing,  cartridges,  boxes,  belts,  etc.,  were 
scattered  in  the  pathway  of  the  torrent  for  a  long  dis- 
tance, and  after  this  experience,  no  amount  of  orders 
could  make  the  men  risk  themselves  in  such  position, 
and  tents  became  a  thing  of  the  past. 

As  we  lay  on  our  blankets  we  had  fine  opportunity 
to  study  the  brilliant  stars  above  us,  and  some  of  the 
men  of  superior  attainments,  would  talk  by  the  hour 
about  the  different  constellations  and  the  mythologi- 
cal fables  with  which  the  ancients  surrounded  those 
groups.  One  evening  just  after  dusk,  as  we  march- 
ed along  the  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  Virginia,  the  newly  risen  full  moon  was 
obscured  by  an  eclipse.  It  came  so  suddenly  and  the 
gloom  was  so  pronounced,  that  a  feeling  of  awe  stole 


180      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

over  the  men,  and  they  became  silent.  We  had  not 
heard  that  an  eclipse  was  due,  and  were  inspired  by 
some  of  the  mystery  and  awe  which  savages  feel 
when  Heaven  suddenly  shuts  out  its  light  from  man. 
There  were  many  fine  bands  in  both  armies.  At 
Fredericksburg,  the  armies  were  on  each  side  of  the 
river,  and  at  night  the  thousands  of  camp-fires  were 
plainly  visible.  A  federal  band  would  play  "Yankee 
Doodle,"  "HairColumbia,"  and  other  tunes,  and  in 
the  frosty  air  every  note  was  distinct  and  clear.  Then 
one  of  our  bands  from  a  hilltop  would  discourse 
"Dixie,"  "Maryland,"  "Bonnie  Blue  Flag,"  each  side 
applauding  its  music  with  ringing  shouts.  Then  one 
side  or  the  other  would  give  "Annie  Laurie,"  "Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  and  friend  and  foe  alike  joined  in  the 
applause  to  music  and  sentiments  shared  by  all.  It 
frequently  happened  that  we  heard  these  contests 
between  bands  of  the  opposing  sides.  General  Grant 
to  his  honor  be  it  said,  ordered  that  no  bands  play  at 
Appomattox,  and  there  was  very  little  or  no  shout- 
ing by  the  foe.  The  Second  Georgia  had  one  of  the 
best  bands  in  our  army,  and  it  frequently  drew  im- 
mense crowds  to  our  evening  parades.  Sometimes 
the  band  would  go  to  General  Benning's  camp-fire 
and  give  him  a  serenade,  for  the  brave  old  man  was 
deservedly  popular.  He  would  smoke  his  pipe  and 
look  in  the  fire  while  they  played  beautiful  airs,  until 
they  were  about  ready  to  depart,  when  he  would  say : 
"Now,  give  us  'The  Gal  I  Left  Behind  Me,' "  and  he 
would  keep  time  with  a  vigorous  patting  of  his  foot 
whilst  his  favorite  was  being  played,  a  distinction 
given  no  other  air.  The  tune  is  over  four  hundred 
years  old,  but  I  wonder  why  this  generation  neglects 
what  was  so  popular  once,  and  in  which  there  seems 
to  be  real  music,  to  dally  with  "rag-time,"  coon  songs, 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      181 

and  opera  airs  that  nobody  understands.  But  infant 
boys  smoke  cigarettes  now,  and  infant  girls  drink 
wine  and  beer  at  suppers  in  public  places,  and,  of 
course,  music,  like  all  things  else,  has  changed. 

Old  Rock,  as  the  boys  loved  to  call  General  Ben- 
ning,  had  been  on  the  Supreme  court  bench  of  Geor- 
gia, was  a  wealthy  planter,  brave  in  battle,  but  had 
a  good  many  oddities.  Among  them,  he  was  very 
plain  of  speech,  and  would  talk  back  in  kind  with 
compound  interest  to  any  of  his  men.  He  was  lead- 
ing us  toward  Fort  Sanders  at  Knoxville,  and  as  we 
marched  by  the  left  flank,  my  position  was  next  to 
him  as  we  came  to  a  little  branch  flowing  over  the 
rocks.  He  halted  the  brigade,  knelt  down  and  drank 
deeply  of  the  stream.  As  he  arose,  I  called  his  at- 
tention to  a  dead  horse  which  had  fallen  into  and 
damned  up  the  little  stream  just  above,  the  water 
making  its  way  through  the  fragments.  He  looked 
over  his  glasses  at  the  object,  wiped  his  mouth  with 
the  braid  sleeve  of  his  coat,  and  said :  "I  don't  care 
a  d — n,  it  was  as  good  a  drink  of  water  as  I  ever  had 
in  my  life.  Forward,  march."  He  was  ever  kind  to 
his  men,  and  on  one  occasion,  took  in  person  my  ap- 
plication for  furlough  to  General  Longstreet,  saying 
that  one  had  been  refused  to  him,  but  he  would  try 
for  me,  and  he  succeeded.  After  Appomattox  he  re- 
mained with  his  men  as  they  made  their  way  slowly 
to  Georgia,  and  now  there  is  a  camp  named  in  his 
honor  in  Columbus. 

AT  MALVERN  HILL. 

Our  colonel,  E.  M.  Butt  of  Buenna  Vista,  was 
blinded  by  a  shell  at  Malvern  Hill;  Lieutenant- Col- 
onel Harris  was  killed  at  Gettysburg,  and  Lieuten- 


182      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ant-Colonel  W.  S.  Shepherd  commanded  the  regiment 
a  great  part  of  the  time.  He  was,  and  is  yet  a  bache- 
lor, with  plenty  of  this  world's  goods,  and  all  the 
qualities  that  go  to  make  a  fine  man,  but  rather  re- 
served. In  the  campaign  below  Suffolk  in  '63,  we 
were  marching  incessantly  in  the  rain,  and  our  fires 
at  night  were  of  pine  wood,  so  that  our  uniforms 
and  faces  were  colored  with  the  soot  most  of  the  time. 
But  some  days  we  would  go  into  camp  early,  and 
from  far  and  near  the  people  would  come  in  carriages 
and  on  horseback  to  see  the  parade,  and  hear  our 
splendid  band.  Colonel  S.,  overcoming  his  timidity, 
stepped  forward  to  assist  a  beautiful  belle  from  her 
horse,  but  a  company  cook,  a  fine-looking  fellow  with 
clean  clothes,  pushed  in  front  of  him,  and  the  gal- 
lant colonel  had  to  retire  in  confusion.  Some  of  the 
boys  were  mean  enough  to  get  close  to  the  cook,  who 
was  an  ignorant  backwoodsman,  and  hear  his  dis- 
course, which  with  sufficient  exaggerations,  was  re- 
tailed about  camp  for  many  a  day,  but  I  never  saw 
the  colonel  try  to  be  gallant  again,  except  in  battle. 
One  captain  in  the  regiment,  from  Ducktown,  was 
said  never  to  have  worn  a  pair  of  shoes  until  he  en- 
tered service.  He  was  handsome  and  brave,  and  got 
a  bullet  through  his  calf  when  helping  me  to  remove 
a  wounded  man  from  the  burning  Poe  house  at 
Chickamauga.  Ex-Governor  Candler  and  his  father 
were  both  in  our  regiment.  The  latter  had  a  great 
soul,  with  the  most  kindly  manners.  The  boys  used 
to  say  that  on  taking  his  company  out  to  the  daily 
drill,  he  would  say,  "Gentlemen  of  the  Banks  County 
Guards,  will  you  drill  up  the  road  or  down  the  road 
today?"  I  had  a  fistcuff  in  ranks  as  we  were  form- 
ing for  dress  parade  one  evning,  but  Sergeant  Allen 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      183 

separated  us.  After  returning  to  our  quarters,  Cap- 
tain Roswell  Ellis  made  the  company  a  speech,  say- 
ing how  mortified  he  was  that  gentlemen  of  the  Col- 
umbus Guards  should  fight,  and  this  was  all  the  pun- 
ishment we  got.  John  Lindsay  was  put  in  the  guard 
house  for  refusing  to  cut  wood  for  the  colonel,  and 
in  five  minutes  a  hundred  bayonets  were  fixed  and 
guns  loaded  to  go  and  get  him  out.  The  officers  were 
greatly  distressed,  but  to  our  relief  John  came  up 
smiling,  and  there  never  was  another  Second  Geor- 
gian called  on  to  perform  such  service. 

These  incidents,  and  hundreds  of  others  that 
might  be  given,  will  show  what  sort  of  discipline 
prevailed  in  much  of  the  southern  army.  The  offi- 
cers recognized  the  fact  that  sometimes  one  company 
contained  two  dozen  men,  each  the  equal  in  wealth, 
education  and  social  position  to  any  general  in  either 
army.  One  Alabama  regiment  had  one  company  con- 
taining twenty-two  privates,  each  worth  over  a  mil- 
lion dollars.  These  men  might  not  submit  quietly  to 
punishment  for  slight  infraction  of  discipline,  they 
did  get  hungry,  dirty  and  ragged,  but  when  called 
on  to  march  or  charge  double  their  numbers,  they 
did  it,  inspired  by  sentimentas  of  duty  and  patriot- 
ism, superior  to  any  military  discipline. 

THIRTY-EIGHT  YEARS  AGO. 

This  is  April  1,  and  I  recall  the  incidents  of  thir- 
ty-eight years  ago.  On  the  last  of  March,  Grant  had 
sought  to  march  around  our  flank  at  Hatchers  Run, 
about  forty  miles  from  our  left.  A  part  of  Grades' 
gallant  brigade  formed  part  of  the  force  which  at- 
tacked the  enemy,  and  took  three  lines  of  works.  On 
the  second  line  fell    Lieutenant-Colonel     Daniel     S. 


184      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Troy,  shot  through  the  lungs,  to  be  captured,  carried 
to  Washington,  nursed  to  health  by  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
and  live  long  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Ala- 
bama. Captain  R.  F.  Manley  of  this  city,  then  took 
command,  and  fell  on  the  third  line,  struck  on  the 
head  by  a  rail,  against  which  a  shell  exploded.  Cap- 
tured, he  went  to  prison,  where  he  read  in  the  Rich- 
mond papers,  his  obituary,  though  he  says  it  was 
grossly  exaggerated,  and  that  struggle  as  he  may, 
he  cannot  live  up  to  the  good  things  said  about  him. 
Grant  brought  up  fresh  troops  and  overwhelmed 
their  line,  and  we  were  hastily  called  from  the  ex- 
treme left. 

Leaving  the  miserable  mud-daubed  earthen  floor 
huts,  where  for  months  we  had  not  one-third  enough 
to  eat,  with  ragged  clothing  and  scant  blankets,  we 
marched  to  Richmond  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  on 
the  hills  at  Rocketts  we  could  see  the  long  trains  of 
fire  following  the  shells  which  were  being  fired  into 
ill-fated  Petersburg.  Detained  for  some  cause  on 
the  train  at  the  bridge  over  the  James,  we  reached 
Petersburg  just  before  day,  and  at  once  marched  out 
to  its  western  borders,  where  the  spiteful  sound  of 
picket  firing  and  an  occasional  cannon  shot  crackled 
in  the  misty  dawn  and  told  us  that  the  enemy  had 
broken  our  lines.  Ordered  to  the  front,  I  went  on 
till  I  came  to  an  avenue  bordered  by  low  hedges,  lead- 
ing to  a  fine  residence  and  in  this  I  met  General  Lee 
alone  on  Traveller,  head  bowed  on  breast,  and  the 
Federal  sharpshooters  popping  away  at  him,  and 
some  unsupported  cannoneers  he  had  just  left.  I 
begged  him  to  dismount  as  he  was  so  conspicuous, 
but  he  only  looked  at  me  and  did  not  reply.  I  had 
never  seen  him  with  such  a  look  on  his  face.  Going 
to  the  cannon,  I  could  see  long  lines  of  infantry  ex- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      185 

tending  for  miles  in  the  open,  and  hurrying  back  I 
reported  that  our  little  brigade  of  eight  hundred  men 
could  not  halt  their  progress.  My  regiment  lay  be- 
hind the  crest  of  a  hill,  and  fought  the  advance,  while 
the  others  cut  down  a  bridge  behind  us.  The  sharp- 
shooters took  cover  in  front,  and  there  was  a  sav- 
age, spiteful  fight,  until  we  heard  the  bridge  fall, 
when  we  retreated,  wading  the  chilly  stream. 

As  we  ascended  the  opposite  hill  in  a  laughing 
mood  because  of  our  escape,  a  bullet  fired  from  the 
dormer  window  of  a  house  struck  the  end  of  my  mid- 
dle finger,  and  the  agony  was  like  mashing  your  nail 
with  a  hammer.  The  nail  came  off,  and  that  which 
replaced  it,  was  never  so  good,  as  the  first,  and  this 
day  it  requires  a  little  attention,  so  I  have  with  me 
a  reminder  of  the  tumult  of  that  day.  A.  P.  Hill, 
the  only  name  mentioned  by  Lee  and  Jackson,  as 
their  senses  wandered  in  their  dying  moments,  was 
killed  on  that  day,  and  in  the  distance  we  saw  line 
after  line,  about  10,000  in  all,  charge  a  fort  held  by 
230  of  a  Mississippi  regiment,  who,  after  their  am- 
unition  gave  out,  fought  with  rocks,  bayonets  and 
clubbed  guns,  and  only  thirty  unhurt  men  were  cap- 
tured. We  lost  some  good  men.  Shepherd  of  Com- 
pany E,  Ballard  of  Company  G,  and  others,  but  held 
the  town  till  nightfall  and  commenced  our  fateful 
retreat  to  Appomattox. 

VARIETY  OF  MEN. 

There  were  men  of  every  sort  in  our  command. 
Lieutenant  Potter  was  an  Englishman,  and  a  splen- 
did fellow,  but  a  bullet  through  his  head  at  Malvern 
Hill  put  an  end  to  a  promising  career.  We  had  sev- 
eral of  Northern  birth  with  us,  and  they  were  faith- 


186      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

ful  and  excellent  soldiers.  William  Anderson  was 
born  of  Quaker  parents  within  twenty  miles  of  Get- 
tysburg. Of  unfailing  good  humor,  amiable  and 
somewhat  of  a  wag,  he  was  a  favorite.  He  was  such 
a  fop  in  dress,  and  had  such  fine  manners,  that  the 
boys  dubbed  him  "Prince  of  Wales,"  after  the  pres- 
ent King  of  England,  who  had  visited  this  country 
just  prior  to  the  war.  But  he  got  to  be  as  dirty  and 
ragged  as  any  of  us,  although  he  never  complained. 

At  Yorktown,  after  we  had  been  relieved  from  du- 
ty in  the  trenches  and  were  supposedly  out  of  dan 
ger?  Prince  was  doing  some  sewing  when  a  bullet 
struck  him  on  the  thigh.  We  ran  to  his  aid,  and 
gathered  around  him.  His  eyes  always  large  were 
magnified  and  he  had  seized  his  leg  with  both  hands 
pressing  tightly  to  stop  the  flow  of  blood.  With  much 
difficulty  we  forced  his  hands  away  and  found  the 
spent  ball  had  only  made  a  blue  spot.  He  was  the 
first  man  in  the  company  to  get  a  wound,  and  it  was 
his  last,  for  he  surrendered  at  Appomattox  and  lived 
long  to  enjoy  life.  The  fortunes  of  war  made  him 
my  comrade  in  the  winter  of  '64-65,  and  we  shared 
the  same  blankets. 

He  discovered  that  he  had  the  seven  years  itch, 
which  was  not  pleasant  for  me,  but  I  never  took  it. 
On  some  one's  advice  he  got  a  citizen  to  show  him 
the  root  of  a  poke  stalk,  dug  it  up,  chopped  it  into 
small  pieces,  boiled  them  in  the  camp  kettle,  and 
bathed  himself  in  the  decoction.  He  had  used  nearly 
a  peck  and  it  was  very  strong.  In  a  few  minutes  he 
was  in  terrible  agony,  and  whelks  or  great  swellings 
as  large  as  one's  arm  appeared  all  over  him.  The 
surgeon  was  sent  for,  and  soon  relieved  him,  but 
the  itch  was  cured.  Returning  from  a  lonely  scouc 
about  midnight  I  found  him  lying  in  the  middle  of 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      187 

the  hut  stark  naked,  but  feeling  good  as  one  who  had 
just  missed  death.  God  rest  the  soul  of  Prince,  and 
those  other  faithful  Northerners  who  toiled,  starved, 
fought  and  bled  with  the  people  among  whom  they 
had  cast  their  lot.  One  of  them  served  in  the  Sixth 
Alabama,  was  wounded  and  captured  at  Sharpsburg, 
was  offered  the  chance  to  go  to  his  home  to  remain 
without  taking  the  oath,  but  he  was  exchanged,  serv- 
ed through  the  war,  and  is  yet  one  of  the  most  useful 
men  in  the  state  as  professor  of  mathematics  at  Au- 
burn. Otis  D.  Smith  has  more  friends  among  the 
young  men  than  any  one  I  know,  and  in  an  acquaint- 
ance of  over  forty  years,  I  have  never  heard  an  un- 
kind word  or  criticism  concerning  him. 

Another,  Baine  of  Lowndes,  a  powerful  and  popu- 
lar lawyer,  fell  at  the  head  of  the  Third  Alabama  be- 
fore Richmond.  There  were  great  numbers  of 
Northern  men  who  shared  our  dangers,  privations, 
defeat  and  reconstruction. 

HEBREW  SOLDIERS. 

Then  we  had  a  few  Hebrews  in  our  company  for 
awhile.  Maj.  R.  J.  Moses,  of  Columbus,  Ga.,  was 
our  brigade  commissary  and  none  was  more  faithful. 
On  one  occasion,  he  rode  ahead  of  the  troops,  seized 
a  little  country  water  mill  and  sat  up  all  night  grind- 
ing corn  so  that  we  might  get  a  hoecake  in  the  morn- 
ing. He  was  too  useful  for  a  brigade,  and  was  made 
assistant  commissary  general  of  the  Confederacy. 
His  nephews  served  with  us  for  awhile.  On  the  re- 
treat from  Yorktown  the  enemy  tried  to  cut  us  off 
with  transports  and  gunboats,  and  we  marched  al- 
most incessantly  for  thirty-six  hours.  Moultree 
Moses  was  unused  to  hardships,  his  feet  blistered 


188      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

and  the  proud  fellow  cried  with  the  agony  and  the 
fear  that  he  would  be  missing  when  the  fight  came 
on.  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  our  secretary  of  stat  had 
not  a  superior  in  America.  He  became  queen's  coun- 
sel in  England,  and  wrote  a  text  book  that  is  author- 
ity on  two  continents.  Many  of  them  served  faith- 
fully all  through  the  war  and  through  the  more  try- 
ing times  of  reconstruction.  After  the  war,  when 
plantations  were  ravaged,  stock  and  farm  imple- 
ments gone  and  no  credit,  it  is  said  that  a  Jew  first 
established  the  system  of  giving  credit  on  a  mort- 
gage on  the  crop  ( to  be  grown,  which  enabled  the 
poverty  stricken  Confederates  to  carry  on  their  farm 
ing  operations.  It  was  the  only  source  of  credit  in 
those  days,  and  now  forms  part  of  our  system  of 
laws,  though  like  other  good  things  it  has  been  badly 
abused.  It  is  said  that  the  plan  of  mortgaging  the 
crops  yet  to  be  planted  and  grown  came  from  Rus- 
sia. 

Two  veteran  Jews  lived  in  Hayneville,  and  had 
many  friends.  One  of  them  whilst  suffering  from 
rheumatism,  was  attacked  by  a  youngster  one  day 
while  sitting  in  front  of  his  place  of  business.  The 
son  of  a  gentile  veteran  sprang  to  his  rescue,  and 
seizing  the  man  by  the  throat,  with  his  fist  pounded 
the  aggressor's  head  against  the  side  of  the  house  so 
vigorously  that  it  was  like  beating  tattoo  on  a  drum. 
A  son  of  the  other  Jew  unfortunately,  and  by  acci- 
dent killed  a  negro  in  an  altercation  almost  in  my 
presence.  I  shall  never  forget  how  when  I  assured 
the  old  father  that  no  jury  would  convict  his  son,  he 
said  whilst  the  tears  streamed  down  his  face,  "Oh, 
Billy,  but  there  is  blood  guilt  on  my  son."  When 
the  trial  came  on,  almost  every  veteran  in  Lowndes 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      189 

county  was  on  the  ground  working  or  offering  to 
work  for  their  old  comrade,  and  the  jury  did  not  stay 
out  twenty  minutes  before  acquitting  the  boy. 

PROFESSIONALS. 

There  were  some  professional  gamblers  in  the  reg- 
iment, but  as  they  could  not  hoodoo  the  bullets  nor 
turn  jack  from  th£  bottom  with  shells  and  cannon 
balls,  they  mostly  got  out  of  the  war  on  one  pre- 
text or  another.  In  the  tumult  of  a  charge  and  tem- 
porary retreat,  it  was  very  tempting  and  very  easy 
to  keep  one's  position  lying  behind  a  rock  or  log 
which  sheltered  one  from  bullets,  and  then  as  the 
enemy  made  the  counter  charge,  surrender  and  go 
off  to  a  safe  prison.  These  men,  to  a  great  extent, 
occupied  the  same  position  in  camp  as  at  home,  a 
kind  of  Ishmaelite,  a  social  outcast,  and  I  cannot 
remember  one  who  lived  a  useful  life  after  the  war 
or  lived  long. 

I  remember  one,  a  very  smart  fellow,  who  got 
discharged  upon  some  pretext  about  the  time  that 
bullets  and  shells  became  familiar  to  us,  but  he  was 
again  pressed  into  service  and  fought  at  Olustee, 
Fla.  The  next  time  I  saw  him,  he  embraced  me  with 
fervor,  and  commenced  telling  me  almost  in  shouts 
of  his  experience  in  battle.  He  said  he  did  not  know 
he  could  stand  bullets  and  believed  he  was  a  d — d 
coward,  but  he  got  into  the  fight  before  he  knew  it, 
and  the  enemy  commenced  to  run  and  he  ran  shout- 
ing and  firing  after  them.  Said  he,  "Billy,  it  was 
great.  I  found  I  was  a  hero.  I  wouldn't  take  any- 
thing for  that  battle."  His  joy  was  like  that  of  a 
boy  when  he  first  swims  or  rides  his  pony. 


190      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

I  have  before  me  a  packet  of  letters  written  to  his 
mother,  wife  and  sisters  by  Phillip  A.  J.  Harris,  who 
has  a  son  in  this  city  proud  of  his  father's  record 
He  belonged  to  the  famous  Tenth  Alabama  and  was 
from  St.  Clair  county.  The  letters  are  dated  from 
July,  1861,  to  the  summer  of  1864,  and  surely  there 
is  enough  of  the  pathetic  in  them  to  touch  the  heart 
of  any  one.  He  writes  that  he  is  glad  he  went  to 
the  war,  and  never-makes  a  complaint  of  an  officer 
or  man  or  of  hard  fare  or  dangers.  After  some  of 
the  fearful  battles,  he  writes  that  some  of  his  com- 
rades, who  were  neighbors  at  home,  have  been  kill- 
ed, others  wounded,  but  he  never  writes  of  the  poetry 
or  war,  of  the  dashing  charge,  the  booming  cannon, 
but  gives  a  simple  narrative  of  events  as  if  they 
were  every  day  affairs. 

In  one  he  advised  that  a  boy  relative,  ambitious 
to  go  to  the  war,  be  advised  to  stay  at  home  and  raise 
crops  for  the  women  and  children.  He  frequently 
gives  advice  about  farming  operations  and  from 
camp  near  Orange  courthouse  in  March  1864,  tells 
his  wife  to  be  sure  and  plant  a  good  crop  of  peas  for, 
said  he,  they  are  selling  at  $80  per  bushel.  He  fre- 
quently sent  money  home  by  f  urloughed  soldiers,  and 
wrote  that  he  would  send  some  cotton  cards  by  ex- 
press to  Rome,  Gav  the  nearest  express  office.  Think 
of  it,  the  nearest  express  office  a  hundred  miles 
away!  He  mentions  "Jabe"  Curry  and  Captain 
Caldwell.  The  last  letter  is  from  his  brother  and  the 
saddest  of  all.  It  tells  how  the  faithful  man  died  in 
the  hospital  at  Lynchburg,  either  from  fever  or  from 
the  effects  of  a  wound  received  in  the  Wilderness, 
which  caused  the  surgeons  to  resect  or  take  out  about 
three  inches  of  the  bone  of  his  arm. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      191 

He  was  rational  to  the  end,  and  his  last  words  were 
of  the  wife  and  children.  Like  four-fifths  of  the 
Confederate  Army,  he  was  not  a  slave  owner,  per- 
haps none  of  his  relatives  were,  but  he  belonged  to 
the  sturdy  liberty-loving  Anglo-Saxon  stock  who 
wrested  Magna  Carta  from  King  John  at  Runny- 
mede,  under  Cromwell  crushed  the  tyranny  of  an- 
other English  king,  won  King's  Mountain  and  the 
Cow  Peas  against  another,  and  for  four  years  battled 
against  gunboats,  odds  six  to  one,  starvation  and 
devastation,  impelled  by  the  same  love  of  liberty. 
Some  able  men  say  that  the  next  war  will  be  along 
the  line  between  labor  and  capital,  but  if  it  comes 
and  if  liberty  be  crushed,  its  last  vestiges  will  be 
found  along  the  Appalachian  ranges  in  communities 
like  St.  Clair  Co.,  where  at  court,  one  can  hear  the 
sheriff  calling  jurors  and  witnesses  all  day  long  and 
never  a  name  among  them  not  familiar  in  the  Brit- 
ish isles.  The  last  census  showed  that  one  county  in 
Alabama  having  over  30,000  population  had  only  one 
foreign  born  citizen  in  its  bounds,  and  the  United 
States  now  has  that  one  in  a  penitentiary  for  med- 
dling with  a  colored  man's  pension. 

ROBBERIES. 

Former  mention  has  been  made  of  the  robebry  of 
women  and  children  by  the  viler  class  of  Northern 
invaders,  since  which  I  have  seen  the  statement  of 
a  son  of  Henry  A.  Wise,  of  Virginia,  who  was  one 
of  the  cadet  corps  of  the  Virginia  Military  institute, 
which  took  a  battery  from  veterans  at  Newmarket. 
After  the  war  he  discovered  that  a  valuable  painting 
which  had  been  stolen  from  his  father's  house  at 
Norfolk  was  adorning  the  mansion  of  a  union  gen- 


192      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

eral,  who  refused  to  give  it  up.  The  young  man 
went  to  the  acting  secretary  of  war,  himself  a  gen- 
eral who  wrote  a  note  to  the  possessor  of  the 
picture  intimating  the  position  he  was  in.  The  pic- 
ture was  restored  and  sold  for  $1500  which  was  all 
the  family  had  for  support,  so  dreadfully  had  they 
been  robbed.  But  the  "quart  of  jewelry,"  the  thous- 
ands of  rings,  plate,  watches  and  money,  could  not 
be  recovered.  When  we  read  of  the  ship  load  of  loot 
that  came  from  the  sacking  of  Pekin,  and  was  stop- 
ped until  duty  was  paid;  of  the  fourteen  diamond 
ring  cases  which  went  to  the  Supreme  court  of  the 
United  States,  because  they  were  imported  from  the 
Phillippines ;  of  the  sacred  vessels  taken  from  the 
churches,  of  the  "water  cure"  torture,  those  of  us 
who  recall  the  days  of  61-65  read  between  the  lines 
that  there  has  been  looting  in  the  Phillipines.  It  is 
inevitable  in  war  that  bad  men  have  the  opportunity 
to  rob,  but  it  is  not  calculated  to  win  the  respect  of 
the  islanders  any  more  than  that  of  the  Southerners 

But  note  the  difference.  Occasionally  there  is  a 
court  martial  in  the  Phillipines  on  charges  of  bru- 
tality, and  though  no  one  is  ever  convicted,  still  an 
occasional  newspaper  sets  up  a  cry  against  the  evils 
done  to  unoffending  natives  and  Senator  Hoar  sheds 
tears  for  them.  BuL  no  one  ever  heard  of  a  court  mar- 
tial or  a  cry  of  sympathy  for  the  barbaraties  prac- 
ticed against  whites  in  the  south  during  the  war. 
Some  of  the  federal  officers  who  were  gentlemen, 
tried  to  protect  people  by  placing  guards  at  their 
houses,  but  so  profound  was  the  hatred  towards  the 
Southerner  that  he  got  no  sympathy,  he  was  white. 

This  leads  me  to  speak  of  the  feeling  now  preval- 
ent in  both  sections.  In  common  with  the  Confeder- 
ates, I  have  been  a  law-abiding  citizen,  and  would  go 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      193 

as  far  as  the  most  vile  South  hater  in  the  North  to 
defend  the  country  against  foreign  aggression.  In 
everything  that  goes  to  make  a  loyal  citizen,  we  are 
their  equals,  and  in  regard  to  respecting  their  preju- 
dices, in  not  forcing  negro  equality  on  them  in  pro- 
tecting them  from  Chinese  immigration,  and  in  not 
trying  to  loot  the  treasury  by  false  and  fraudulent 
pension  claims,  we  can  certainly  compare  favorably 
with  them. 

SOUTH  HATERS. 

Some  of  the  creatures  hate  the  South  so  much  that 
they  are  constantly  ready  to  put  the  worst  construc- 
tion on  any  event  that  happens  in  this  section.  As 
has  been  said,  their  souls  are  so  infinitesimally  small 
that  if  enclosed  in  the  shell  of  a  mustard  seed,  they 
would  roam  for  endless  ages  without  meeting  the 
confines.  I  know  it  is  fashionable  for  those  Confed- 
erates who  have  been  as  government  officials,  draw- 
ing large  salaries  for  a  long  time,  to  talk  about  the 
disappearance  of  prejudice,  reconciliation  and  peace 
The  politicians,  newspaper  reporters  and  some 
others,  talk  along  the  same  line,  all  apparently  en- 
gaged in  trying  to  force  the  course  of  history. 

The  larger  newspapers  and  magazines  in  the 
North  are  leaving  off  their  prating  and  pursuing  a 
policy  of  letting  us  alone,  which  is  the  true  way  to 
bring  about  reconciliation,  but  it  is  not  long  since 
they  all  in  heated  campaigns  advised  their  readers  to 
"vote  as  they  shot  during  the  war,"  and  even  now  the 
little  country  papers  that  we  seldom  see  in  this  sec- 
tion, will  cry  the  slogan,  "vote  as  you  shot"  and  any 
man  who  does  not  know  that  such  feelings  actuate 


194      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

great  masses  of  people  in  that  section,  is  lacking  in 
observation.  It  is  not  claimed  that  we  are  so  free  of 
prejudices  that  we  are  angelic,  but  our  people  are 
deeply  grounded  in  the  doctrine  of  state's  rights,  and 
believe  that  in  everything  not  controlled  by  the  gen- 
eral government,  we  ought  to  let  other  people  man- 
age their  domestic  concerns,  and  they  should  let  us 
do  the  same.  Apropos  of  our  prejudices,  if  you  call 
them  such,  when  Smithson,  who  was  doing  a  thriv- 
ing law  practice  in  this  city  was  preparing  to  remove 
to  a  Northern  city,  he  was  asked  by  a  brother  lawyer 
why  he  was  leaving.  He  answered  in  a  tone  almost 
pathetic,  "Because  a  man  has  got  to  be  a  Democrat 
or  a  nigger  in  Alabama."  So  long  as  hatred,  vindic- 
tiveness  and  prejudices  govern  and  bind  together 
one  section,  the  other  will  instinctively  join  hands 
in  self-defense. 

PRESIDENT  DAVIS. 

When  surrender  came  President  Davis  lost  much 
of  his  personal  popularity.  His  obstinacy  in  contin- 
uing General  Bragg  in  command  of  the  Western 
army  after  so  many  reverses,  in  keeping  Pemberton 
in  favor,  in  holding  Richmond  against  the  advice  of 
General  Lee  until  it  was  too  late  to  effect  a  success- 
ful retreat;  his  failure  to  have  provisions  forwarded 
by  trains,  otherwise  filled  with  their  useless  govern- 
ment archives,  combined  with  other  minor  matters 
has  caused  him  to  be  severely  censured  in  the  South, 
and  the  feeling  properly  left  alone  or  managed, 
would  have  resulted  in  the  effacement  of  many  pas- 
sions aroused  by  the  war.  Then  when  a  powerful 
government  with  a  million  armed  men,  and  not  an 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      195 

armed  foe,  put  iron  manacles  on  a  sick  old  man  con- 
fined in  the  stone  casemate  of  an  impregnable  fort- 
ress, every  true  son  of  the  South  felt  the  cowardly 
insult  to  be  directed  at  himself,  and  felt  as  if  he  too 
was  manacled  and  degraded  in  the  person  of  his  rep- 
resentative. 

Then  the  victors  demanded  blood,  and  hung  Wirz 
because  of  alleged  cruelty  to  Andersonville  prison- 
ers who  received  the  same  rations  as  their  captors, 
and  whose  want  of  medicine  was  the  result  of  the 
failure  of  their  government  to  accept  our  offer  to 
allow  medicines  and  surgeons  to  be  sent  them.  It 
was  long  afterwards  before  it  was  shown  by  the 
records  at  Washington  in  possession  of  the  victors, 
that  whilst  but  12  per  cent  of  Northern  soldiers  in 
our  hands  died  in  prison,  16  per  cent  of  Southern 
soldiers  died  in  Northern  prisons,  in  a  land  teeming 
with  abundance.  There  are  many  living  witnesses 
my  own  brother  among  them,  to  the  barbarities, 
starvation  and  cruelties  practiced  on  prisoners  in  the 
North,  generally  it  is  true  by  the  home  guards  who 
had  never  seen  a  battle,  but  it  was  done  and  the 
South  had  to  submit  quietly  to  seeing  an  innocent 
man  hanged  on  a  false  charge.  If  these  things  in- 
dicated a  wish  for  reconciliation,  it  was  of  the  kind 
practiced  by  Indians,  who  turned  over  helpless  cap- 
tives to  their  women  to  be  tortured  with  fire. 

MILITARY  DICTATORSHIP. 

When  the  thirst  for  blood  could  not  be  assuaged 
by  reason  of  a  Supreme  court,  a  more  refined  spe- 
cies of  torture  was  devised,  and  civil  government  in 
the    South    abolished,     and     military     dictatorship 


196      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

substituted  in  its  place.  Again  it  was  found  that  not 
all  the  generals  would  consent  to  be  brutes,  and  then 
came  negro  political  equality,  which  was  as  degrad- 
ing to  the  oppressor  as  to  the  oppressed.  Then  came 
so-called  elections  in  which  almost  all  the  intelligence 
of  the  South  was  studiously  disfranchised  and  the 
days  of  reconstruction  and  the  carpet  baggers 
brought  bankruptcy  to  states,  municipalities  and  in- 
dividuals. The  robbers  of  the  war  time,  got  in  their 
work  in  those  days  by  issuing  state  and  county 
bonds,  and  it  was  seen  that  the  so-called  philanthro- 
phy  which  gave  the  negro  race  its  vote,  was  reward- 
ed in  cash  by  the  negro  voting  bond  issues  for  his 
charitable  friends  whose  charity  was  directed  to  rob- 
bing a  helpless  people,  always  provided  they  and  not 
the  negro  got  the  proceeds  of  the  robbery.  These 
kindly  attempts  at  reconciliation  were  kept  up  for 
several  years,  and  only  stopped  because  there  was 
nothing  more  to  steal  from  impoverished  states. 

Then  we  have  sustained  numberless  attempts  to 
have  "force  bills"  designed  to  provide  social  equali- 
ty, but  be  it  said  in  his  honor  that  great  Pennsylvan- 
ian,  Randall,  prevented  this  extreme  of  cruelty, 
which  never  an  Arab,  Roman  or  Indian  dreamed  of 
as  a  method  of  tortue.  It  was  the  refinement  of 
cruelty,  the  climax  of  torture,  the  invention  of  small 
souls  rendered  desperate  by  their  failure  to  invent 
other  methods  of  making  life  horrible  to  the  people 
they  had  robbed  of  everything  save  honor.  The  Su- 
preme court  of  the  United  States,  placed  as  it  is 
above  the  methods  of  the  low  politician,  its  members 
secure  for  life  in  their  position,  and  in  the  cold,  clear 
light  of  law,  with  the  knowledge  that  history  and 
time  will  adjudge  their  opinions,  have  wisely  thwart- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      197 

ed  the  attempts  of  these  malcontents  to  interfere 
with  social  and  domestic  relations,  but  what  do  we 
think  of  them  as  lovers  of  peace  and  humanity? 

THE  LILY  WHITES. 

Lately  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  purge  one 
party  in  Alabama  of  some  of  its  objectionable  fea- 
tures, but  the  whole  power  of  the  administration 
entirely  sectional  in  its  make  up,  has  been  used  to 
crush  the  effort  and  the  "lily  whites"  are  set  back, 
at  least  for  one  election,  perhaps  for  a  generation. 
The  Confederate  is  not  whining  about  it.  The  so- 
called  native  Republicans  used  the  darkey  as  long 
as  it  was  profitable,  and  cast  him  off  when  they  saw 
they  could  perhaps  get  additions  and  make  their 
party  respectable  without  him.  But  the  old  veteran 
wonders  where  the  "reconciliation  and  peace"  so 
much  talked  about  by  the  shallow  fellows  come  in, 
and  sees  that  in  order  for  Roosevelt  to  win,  he  must 
bow  to  the  vultures  of  his  own  section,  who  would 
rather  fatten  on  the  carrion  of  hate,  than  see  recon- 
ciliation in  fact,  for  their  occupation  would  be  gone 
if  the  latter  took  place. 

The  Romans  tolerated  the  religions  and  prejudices 
of  all  the  conquered  nations  of  the  world,  and  their 
gods  found  an  honored  place  in  the  Pantheon.  When 
the  Jews  rebelled  because  the  eagles,  the  symbols  of 
conquest,  were  placed  in  the  holy  temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem, they  were  withdrawn,  and  it  was  death  for  a 
Roman  to  enter  the  sacred  precincts.  Caesar,  Alex- 
ander and  Napoleon,  not  only  tolerated  but  respect- 
ed the  traditions  of  people  whom  they  conquered.  Of 
late,  conquering  England  gave  the  defeated  Boers 


198      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

terms  which  astonished  the  world  by  their  liberality, 
and  it  is  reserved  to  one  section  of  the  United  States 
to  maintain  the  most  liberal,  not  to  say  barbarous 
views  towards  people  of  their  own  race.  These  views 
are  committed  to  writing,  not  as  an  apology,  nor  as 
a  defense,  for  the  Confederate  needs  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other,  but  the  prevalent  beliefs  of  a  people 
are  facts,  and  by  their  results  are  moulded  into  his- 
tory. 

SCORNS  THE  IDEA. 

The  northerner  among  us  not  for  politics  scorns 
the  idea  of  social  equality  with  any  people  not  de- 
serving it,  nor  does  he  want  his  taxes  assessed,  or 
his  rights  decided  by  jurors  or  judges,  only  two  or 
three  generations  removed  from  Congo,  but  the  man 
in  the  far  North  who  "votes  as  he  shot"  in  his  pro- 
found ignorance  and  venom,  hates  us  because  we  act 
like  the  decent  northerners  settled  among  us,  whose 
children  play  with  ours,  who  neighbor  with  us,  and 
share  our  joys  and  sorrows.  Our  attitude  is:  "At- 
tend to  your  own  domestic  concerns,  and  we  will  do 
the  same  and  let  yours  alone."  We  pray  that  our 
sins  be  forgiven,  whilst  they  give  thanks  that  they 
are  not  as  we  publicans.  I  have  not  set  my  foot  be- 
yond the  line  of  Dixie  land,  because  I  deem  the  com- 
pany of  my  people  good  enough  for  me,  and  if  I 
should  stray  beyond  and  hear  the  besainted  vultures 
casting  slurs  upon  my  people,  as  happens  to  some  of 
my  friends  who  seek  pleasure  or  business  among 
them,  I  must  needs  take  it  or  resent  it,  so  I  stay  at 
home  and  enjoy  myself  among  my  own  people. 

In  1860  I  traveled  by  private  conveyance  through 
a  part  of  Georgia,  Florida  and  South  Alabama.    One 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      199 

Saturday  I  was  in  one  of  the  towns  in  an  Alabama 
county,  now  the  center  of  thrift,  education  and  pros- 
perity. There  was  an  old  fashioned  square  or  plaza 
with  the  court  house  in  the  center,  and  clustered 
around  the  square  were  lawyer's  offices,  stores  and 
barrooms,  or  groceries  as  they  were  then  denomi- 
nated. 

In  the  evening  two  young  men  got  to  quarreling 
and  cursing  each  other  vigorously,  and  a  crowd, 
among  whom  were  the  sheriff  and  various  county 
officers,  surrounded  them.  The  young  men  stripped 
to  their  waists,  apparently  did  everything  imagin 
able  to  bring  on  the  fight.  They  shook  their  fists  in 
each  other's  faces  and  used  shocking  profanity; 
boasted  of  what  each  could  do  to  the  other,  until  in 
my  innocence,  I  fully  expected  to  see  one  or  both 
killed.  Finally  one  of  them  said  to  the  other :  "Your 
granddaddy  was  a  d — d  Tory  in  the  Revolutionary 
war."  The  other  replied:  "And  your  granddaddy 
plead  the  baby  act  (infancy)  in  South  Carolina,  and 
d — n  you,  I  can  prove  it."  This  was  the  straw  that 
broke  the  camel's  back,  and  they  begun  fighting  so 
furiously  that  both  were  soon  covered  with  blood. 
The  crowd  stood  and  watched  until  the  combatants 
were  out  of  breath,  and  then  separated  them.  No 
weapons  except  nature's  own  were  used,  and  it  seem- 
ed to  be  a  matter  of  course  for  the  fight  to  go  on. 
and  nobody  was  arrested.  The  incident  is  recalled 
in  order  to  show  that  old  memories  are  likely  to  re- 
tain a  strong  hold  on  people,  and  further  show  what 
changes  have  taken  place.  To  be  called  the  descend- 
ant of  a  Tory  was  a  great  insult,  just  as  our  grand 
children  will  be  insulted  by  being  told  that  their  an- 
cestors were  rebels  or  unionists. 


200      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

Again  it  was  an  insult  to  be  told  that  one's  an- 
cestors had  plead  infancy  to  avoid  a  debt.  Now  our 
young  men  fight,  or  more  frequently  do  murder  with 
pistols,  and  too  many  will  not  only  plead  infancy,  but 
claim  exemptions  to  avoid  the  payment  of  honest 
debts.  Prior  to  1860  a  respectable  young  man  could 
get  a  loan  of  money  to  start  business  on  his  plain 
note,  and  I  contracted  debts  of  hundreds  of  dollars 
before  I  was  18  years  of  age,  but  I  never  heard  of 
any  one  trying  to  avoid  payment.  What  a  happy 
thing  it  would  be  if  with  our  street  railways,  elec- 
tric lights,  imigration  and  fine  imported  manners 
we  could  have  preserved  some  of  the  old-fashioned 
ways  of  paying  debts,  without  waive  notes  and  mort- 
gages, and  fighting  with  fists  instead  of  with  pis- 
tols. 

In  the  humble  cottages,  as  well  as  the  stately  man- 
sions of  the  black  belt,  the  mistress  of  the  house  or 
her  daughters,  who  never  traveled  farther  than  the 
nearest  market  town,  always  rise  when  a  visitor 
leaves  the  room,  and  one  with  the  graciousness  of 
a  princess,  follows  him  to  the  door ;  but  the  fashion- 
able girl,  who  got  her  manners  in  "Nu  Yok,"  shakes 
hands  as  if  her  arm  was  a  pump  handle,  and  lets 
her  guest  find  his  hat,  overcoat,  and  his  way  out  the 
front  door  as  best  he  can.  Now  we  hear  of  scandals, 
lawsuits  for  breach  of  promise  and  seductions,  when 
such  things  used  to  be  treated  with  a  shot  gun  or 
silence. 

If  an  editor  was  not  very  careful  in  mentioning 
the  name  of  a  lady  in  his  paper,  there  was  a  pros- 
pect of  a  horsewhipping  for  him,  but  now  every  ar- 
rival is  chronicled  as  the  "most  lovely  and  accom- 
plished" until  all  are  on  a  dead  level  in  the  social 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      201 

columns.  Even  the  shape,  color  and  material  of  the 
"gowns"  are  set  forth,  on  all  occasions,  forgetful 
that  in  the  show  windows  are  finer  dresses,  less 
paint,  and  better  rounded  shoulders  on  the  smirking 
wax  figures.  Many  of  these  things  are  the  result  of 
the  demoralization  following  the  war.  When  the 
Normans  conquered  England,  it  was  the  conquered 
who  impressed  their  manners,  customs,  language  and 
laws  on  the  victors,  but  in  the  cities  of  the  south 
what  is  worst  in  the  manners  of  the  victors  is  be- 
ing adopted  and  what  is  good  is  not  copied.  But  in 
the  country  the  changes  are  not  so  apparent  and  the 
stock  that  sturdily  withstood  the  Norman  will  long 
preserve  the  traditions  of  the  old  South  in  its  re- 
spect for  women,  and  its  love  for  home,  of  simple, 
honest  life,  and  its  hospitality  to  the  strange  guest. 
I  have  traveled  much  in  the  country,  and  it  is  an  in- 
variable rule  that  the  weary  stranger  is  asked  to  go 
and  see  his  horse  fed,  and  if  the  master  did  not  go 
he  at  once  fell  in  the  estimation  of  his  host.  Many 
a  time  have  I  on  taking  my  departure,  and  asking 
for  my  bill,  had  for  reply,  "All  I  charge  you,  stran- 
ger, is  the  next  time  you  come  this  way  you  must 
stop  with  us  again."  If  one  came  to  a  broken  down 
vehicle,  or  wagon  stalled  in  a  mud  hole,  and  did  not 
stop  and  offer  to  assist  the  unfortunate  countryman, 
he  was  liable  to  be  thought  of  as  a  meanly  disposed 
person. 

Whilst  journeying  from  one  court  to  another,  with 
my  silk  hat  and  store  clothes  on,  I  have  dismounted, 
and  in  the  mud  with  a  fence  rail,  assisted  in  prizing 
wagons  out  of  the  mire,  and  whilst  the  country  men 
were  not  effusive  in  their  gratitude,  their  looks  and 
manners  indicated  that  they  thought  that  I  was  a 
fellow  whom  they  could  tie  to,  and  my  heart  warms 


202      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

yet  at  the  recollection  of  the  manly  way  some  of 
these  farmers  accepted  the  trifling  help  I  gave  them. 

CLOSE  TO  NATURE. 

If  you  want  to  get  close  to  nature,  and  nature's 
God,  go  to  the  country  and  dwell  amid  the  forests 
by  the  placid  streams  and  among  the  plain  folks.  If 
you  want  to  see  artificial  men  and  women,  go  into 
society  in  the  city,  but  in  the  blessed  little  children 
in  both  city  and  country,  in  the  ragged  newsboy  and 
the  borefoot  plowboy,  you  get  close  to  nature.  Fash- 
ion has  not  currupted  the  tots.  Blessings  on  them! 
They  do  not  know  North  or  South,  and  do  not  revile 
us  because  we  are  Southerners  and  white,  which  is 
a  crime  in  the  eyes  of  many  saints  who  dwell  toward 
the  north  pole.  They  may  roll  their  R's  and  say  they 
were  born  in  the  nor-r-th,  but  they  are  as  near  angels 
as  humanity  can  be,  and  if  they  make  their  home 
with  us  till  they  are  grown,  they  will  be  our  steady 
friends  and  always  white  to  the  core.  They  at  least 
will  never  help  to  make  Alabama  a  Hayti  or  St.  Do- 
mingo, nor  forget  that  the  mongrel — the  cross  be- 
tween the  races — inherits  all  the  vices  and  few  or 
none  of  the  virtues  of  either.  Boston  can  more  easi- 
ly and  surely  help  the  colored  man  by  sending  five 
thousand  of  her  learned  fanatics  to  live  for  one  year 
in  the  black  belt  of  Alabama  than  by  the  proposed 
plan  of  taking  the  same  number  of  colored  people 
to  a  state  whose  population  is  42  per  cent  foreign 
born,  with  no  sort  of  sympathy  for  the  negro. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      203 

HOW  ONE  FEELS  UNDER  FIRE. 

I  have  often  been  asked  how  one  felt  in  a  fight 
and  if  one  did  not  have  feelings  of  great  fear.  From 
my  own  experience,  as  well  as  the  observation  of 
others,  I  believe  that  the  man  whose  flesh  did  not 
rebel  when  his  spirit  held  him  in  the  range  of  dead- 
ly missies,  whilst  not  fighting  himself,  was  insane. 
Thus  when  sustaining  a  fierce  cannonade  to  which 
we  could  not  reply,  or  whilst  charging  batteries, 
breast  works  or  lines  of  infantry  at  a  double  quick, 
when  we  could  not  return  the  fire,  the  flesh  indeed 
was  weak,  and  one  could  see  from  the  pale  counten- 
ances and  compressed  lips  of  his  comrades  that  the 
perfectly  natural  feeling,  common  to  all  animals,  of 
the  fear  of  wounds  and  pain,  and  which  cannot  be 
helped,  was  the  lot  of  even  the  bravest  soldier.  But 
once  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  when  we  were  giving 
as  well  as  taking  blows,  when  the  fierce  wrestle  for 
some  gun  or  coveted  point  was  on,  and  the  blood  was 
hot  with  the  shouts  of  comrades  ringing  in  one's 
ears,  all  fear  departed  and  a  fierce  joy  possessed  the 
whole  being  of  the  soldier.  He  became  absorbed, 
delirious  and  often  totally  oblivious  to  sense  of  dan- 
ger. This  the  Latins  called  "the  joy  of  battle,"  and 
it  expressed  the  idea  as  nearly  as  possible. 

The  great  majority  of  men  have  the  courage  to 
make  good  soldiers,  and  it  was  rather  the  exception 
that  a  man  behaved  badly  under  fire.  In  one  com- 
pany of  the  Second  Georgia  were  three  brothers, 
whose  name  I  will  not  call,  for  they  are  now  thrifty, 
well  to  do  and  respected  citizens  of  Alabama.  Two 
of  them  had  always  been  quiet  boys,  and  made  ex- 
cellent soldiers,  but  the  elder  had  been  before  the 


204      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

war  a  notorious  fighter.  He  had  whipped  every 
fighting  man  in  his  neighborhood,  and  if  he  heard 
of  another  twenty  miles  distant  he  would  hunt  him 
up  and  provoke  a  fight,  so  that  he  was  notorious  as 
a  bully  in  his  section.  This  was  before  the  day  of 
pistol  "toting,"  and  there  was  seldom  any  malice 
between  the  bullies,  but  this  brother  made  a  poor 
soldier,  and  shirked  every  battle  until  late  in  1863. 
On  the  French  Broad  in  Tennessee,  as  the  lines  were 
forming  to  charge  an  ugly  hill  from  which  the  bul- 
lets came  in  a  spiteful  way,  his  captain  requested 
that  two  men  might  be  sent  from  my  company  to 
him,  and  John  Hicks  and  I  went  and  received  orders 
to  place  ourselves  behind  this  man,  and  if  he  started 
to  run  to  shoot  him.  As  the  line  moved  forward  he 
looked  over  his  shoulder  at  us  and  evidently  under- 
stood matters,  but  he  went  with  the  line  into  what 
proved  to  be  a  very  small  fight,  as  the  enemy  fled 
before  we  got  a  chance  to  punish  them. 

When  I  was  shot  in  the  hand  at  second  Manas- 
sas, Tom  Geasley  tied  it  up  with  my  handkerchief, 
and  told  me  to  get  into  a  little  gully  just  in  the  rear 
of  the  line.  From  a  hill  at  short  range  a  New  York 
brigade  was  pouring  bullets  like  hail  on  us,  and  hav- 
ing nothing  to  do  but  look  on  they  seemed  to  me  as 
thick  as  rain  drops  in  a  shower.  The  depression  soon 
filled  up  with  men,  and  a  staff  came  along  rousing 
the  men  and  imploring  them  to  get  up  and  fight. 
Severel  showed  him  they  were  wounded.  I  held  up 
my  bloody  hand,  and  he  came  to  the  next  who  was 
not  hurt.  Said  he,  "My  God !  What  will  the  men  do 
if  the  officers  run  out  of  the  fight!"  and  shook  the 
man  by  the  shoulders.  The  officer  turned  up  his 
pitiable  pale  face  and  said:  "I — I  can't — can't 
fight."     This  was  the  only  battle  in  which  I  was  in 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER     205 

the  rear  of  the  fighting  line,  and  all  the  missies  seem- 
ed to  be  aimed  at  me,  and  the  sight  of  the  wounded 
men  running  to  the  rear  was  demoralizing  to  such  an 
extent  that  I  would  prefer  a  front  place,  where  one 
could  occupy  himself  in  scaring  the  other  fellow.  It 
relieves  the  situation  mightily  when  you  can  give 
blow  for  blow,  and  know  the  other  fellow  is  just  as 
badly  scared  as  you  are. 

LEARNING  TO  FIGHT. 

From  scarlet  fever  and  all  the  ills  attendant  on 
infancy,  I  was  a  weakly  youth,  and  never  engaged  in 
wrestling  or  other  sports  which  gave  strength  to  the 
boy,  and  Job's  comforters  often  prophesied  that  I 
could  not  live  six  months  in  camp.  I  had  never  had 
even  a  fisticuff  at  school,  and  it  was  a  source  of  great 
anxiety  to  me  to  know  whether  I  could  stand  the 
strain  of  a  battle.  It  must  be  confessed  that  I  had 
serious  doubts  as  to  whether  such  a  weakling  could 
face  the  belching  cannon  and  the  fearful  din  of  mus- 
ketry. Two  great  grandfathers  were  in  the  revo- 
lutionary war  and  on  the  right  side.  My  father 
and  his  only  brother  had  volunteered  for  the  In- 
dian war,  and  from  certain  scraps  of  family  history, 
which  had  not  been  carefully  concealed,  I  knew  that 
some  of  my  ancestors  had  not  always  declined  per- 
sonal combat,  and  I  wondered  if  I  was  to  prove  de- 
generate. Our  company  was  one  of  the  best  drilled 
in  the  South,  but  the  raw  recruits  like  myself,  had 
to  be  licked  into  shape,  and  I  was  long  in  the  awk- 
ward squad,  where  my  failure  to  learn  the  details 
of  drill  and  especially  to  "catch  step"  caused  a  good 
deal  of  amusement,  and  naturally  subjected  me  to 
ridicule.     I  was  so  sensitive  about  it  that  I  finally 


206      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

decided — and  what  a  fool  I  was — that  I  must  fight 
somebody,  and  when  the  next  remark  was  made 
about  me  I  squared  myself  before  the  great  big  fel- 
low and  demanded  an  apology,  expecting  to  get  a 
good  beating,  but  to  my  great  relief  he  apologized 
in  the  most  gentlemanly  manner.  It  had  the  effect 
of  stopping  the  ridicule,  but  I  still  did  not  know  if 
I  would  fight.  Some  months  afterwards  George  A — 
suddenly  provoked  me  into  striking  him,  and  almost 
before  I  knew  it  I  was  in  a  fisticuff,  and  to  my  great 
astonishment  I  stood  up  to  it  until  the  officers  sep- 
arated us.  Afterwards  I  was  under  fire  from  gun- 
boats, pickets,  in  the  trenches  at  Yorktown,  at  Sev- 
en Pines,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  battles  around 
Richmond,  but  always  under  such  circumstances 
that  I  did  not  see  anything  to  run  from,  and  any- 
body else  that  tried  to  run,  so  I  began  to  believe  that 
I  could  stand  fire  as  well  as  the  average  man,  and  you 
can  rest  well  assured  it  was  a  great  comfort.  Fin- 
ally came  the  supreme  test  at  Malvern  Hill,  when 
sick  and  with  a  surgeon's  certificate  in  my  pocket, 
our  long  line,  under  the  sultry  sun,  advanced  through 
an  open  field  against  seventy  cannon  supported  by 
thousands  of  infantry,  armed  with  long  range  rifles 
against  our  smooth  bore  muskets.  We  passed  some 
of  our  cannons  dismounted,  the  wheels  town  to  pieces 
and  littered  with  shreds  of  human  flesh,  stepping 
over  the  mangled  bodies  of  the  cannoneers.  I  re- 
member that  I  felt  gratified  to  keep  my  pace  in  the 
front  rank  as  we  went  onward  up  the  long  slope 
through  that  hell  of  fire.  Getting  close  to  the  ene- 
my, who  were  concealed  by  the  smoke  we  moved  by 
the  left  flank,  crossing  over  a  fence,  and  there  lay 
down  and  were  told  not  to  fire,  an  order. which  I 
disobeyed,  as  I  could  plainly  see  as  the  guns  blew 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      207 

away  the  smoke  the  blue  artilleries,  and  I  did  not 
want  to  be  murdered  in  cold  blood.  Directly  I  rais- 
ed up,  looked  around  and  found  my  comrades  gone, 
except  the  noble  Porter  who  was  shot  through  the 
head,  and  going  to  the  rear  I  met  Lucius  Johnson, 
who  did  not  know  what  had  becomee  of  the  regi- 
ment, which  for  want  of  leadership  in  our  generals, 
had  refused  to  lie  still  and  be  killed  for  nothing.  In 
a  piece  of  thicket  just  to  the  rear  was  a  South  Car- 
olina major  calling  on  the  men  to  rally,  and,  ad- 
miring his  pluck,  I  stopped  with  him,  as  did  Hucks, 
another  of  my  company.  He  got  together  forty- 
seven  men  and  led  us  up  the  hill  which  10,000  had 
tried  in  vain  to  take.  We  went  about  as  far  as  the 
main  line  had  gone  and  our  game  cock  major  ordered 
us  to  lie  down,  at  which  I  was  surprised,  for  he 
seemed  willing  to  attack  alone  the  whole  Yankee 
army.  The  cannons  still  belched  forth  their  whirl- 
winds, and  about  dusk  one  struck  me  on  the  thigh, 
which  was  blue  and  black  for  weeks.  Some  of  Jack- 
son's troops  came  to  "our  support  in  the  night,  but 
the  enemy  retreated,  and  the  next  morning  with  a 
musket  for  a  crutch  and  desperately  sick,  I  search- 
ed for  my  command.  Feeble  as  I  was  I  could  not  re- 
sist the  feeling  of  intense  satisfaction  arising  from 
the  knowledge  that  I  had  gone  as  far  to  the  front  as 
anybody  else,  and  that  I  had  remained  all  night 
close  to  the  enemy.  In  fact  I  considered  it  a  set- 
tled question  that  I  could  do  my  part  in  a  battle, 
but  up  to  that  time  I  had  not  known  it  for  a  fact. 

A  furlough,  home  comforts  and  doctoring  pre- 
pared me  for  second  Manassas,  where  we  were  bet- 
ter led,  and  my  regiment  acquitted  itself  with  cred- 
it.    Led  the  same  way  at  Malvern  Hill  we  would 


208      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

have  taken  the  position.  These  are  the  honest  con- 
fessions of  a  boy  who  did  not  know  whether  he 
could  fight  or  not  until  he  was  tried  in  the  fire.  If 
the  young  men  of  the  present  generation  were  called 
on  to  endure  the  same  experience — which  God  for- 
bid— they  would  not,  disgrace  their  ancestors,  but 
the  topers,  the  cigarette  smokers  and  the  gamblers 
would  play  out  of  the  game,  just  as  they  fall  by  the 
wayside  in  their  battles  of  banking,  rail-roading, 
merchandising,  law,  farming,  and  medicine  ,and 
just  as  they  did  in  61-65.  But  one  baptism  of  fire 
did  not  make  a  hero  and  in  '63,  '64  and  '65  as  the 
shells  and  bullets  began  to  fly  around  us,  the  flesh 
felt  the  same  tremblings  and  aversions  to  the  dan- 
ger. You  have  all  seen  a  frightened  horse,  and  how 
senseless  he  is,  but  a  man  or  a  lot  of  men  in  a  panic 
have  less  reason  than  a  runaway  horse,  and  I  have 
laughed  and  grown  mad  by  turns  at  men  who  were 
flinching  from  the  searching  shells  and  bullets.  I 
saw  Jim  DuBose,  who  weighed  about  one  hundred 
pounds,  at  Chickamauga,  put  his  bayonet  to  the 
breast  of  a  fleeing  colonel  twice  his  weight  and  curse 
him  soundly,  and  yet  the  same  Jim,  whilst  on  a  lone- 
ly vidette  post  on  the  Darbytown  road,  fired  at  a 
covey  of  partridges  made  restive  in  the  bushes  by 
the  intense  cold.  My  brigade  had  proven  themselves 
veterans  on  many  a  bloody  field,  had  resisted  odds 
of  ten  to  one  at  Sharpsburg  and  Richmond,  had  ta- 
ken breast  works  and  batteries  from  odds,  yet  as  we 
were  marching  one  starlit  night  outside  our  lines 
through  the  thick  woods  to  flank  the  enemy,  a  little 
muddy  stream,  crossed  only  by  a  foot  log,  delayed 
our  march,  and  passing  it  I  suddenly  found  that 
every  man  had  taken  to  the  woods  like  scared  quails. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      209 

A  scout  could  not  do  likewise,  however  strong  the 
temptation,  so  I  advanced  until  I  hailed  a  bulky 
form  in  the  road  and  found  a  mounted  boy  courier, 
who  had  panicked  veterans  by  inquiring  in  a  loud 
voice,  "Whose  command  is  that?"  Of  such  stuff 
are  mortals  made.  With  my  son,  in  1897,  I  drove 
over  the  same  road — curious  to  recall  the  feelings 
of  that  sombre  scene.  Three  miles  from  our  line 
and  less  than  two  hundred  yards  from  a  strong  cav- 
alry post  of  the  enemy,  I  was  in  a  little  road,  cross- 
ing a  marsh,  when  at  a  sudden  turn  I  met  a  little 
woman  in  a  blue  shawl,  and  the  momentary  ter- 
ror I  felt  is  yet  fresh  in  my  recollection.  At  another 
place  where  we  had  fought  three  times,  and  the 
arms  and  the  legs  of  the  dead  had  been  uncovered 
by  the  winter  rains,  and  whence  alone  I  had  taken 
prisoners,  I  was  standing  waiting  for  daylight,  so 
as  to  observe  the  hostile  camps,  when  I  saw  gliding 
towards  me,  now  stopping,  now  moving,  a  grey  ob- 
ject too  small  for  a  horse,  but  to  my  ditsurbed  imag- 
ination, quite  large.  My  heart  came  to  my  throat 
several  times  and  I  turned  my  gun  on  the  object, 
but  the  recollection  of  the  ridicule  I  would  get  if  I 
shot  anything  but  an  enemy  made  me  wait  till  I 
discovered — an  'opossum.  It  is  but  a  step  from  the 
sublime  to  the  ridiculous,  even  in  war  times,  and 
the  man  whose  heroism  you  praise  today  may  look 
like  a  scarecrow  tomorrow. 

The  braggart  and  bully  of  peace  times  is  likely 
to  prove  a  coward  in  battle,  and  the  quiet  man  who 
turns  pale  when  angry,  will  lead  in  the  daring 
charge.  Alone,  and  miles  from  my  own  people,  I 
have  been  ordered  to  surrender,  and  escaped  by 
fleetness,  and  I  have  many  times  narrowly  missed 


210      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

death,  or  capture,  and  it  would  be  idle  to  say  that 
one  did  not  feel  fear  and  no  old  soldier  would  be- 
lieve it. 

INCIDENTS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  ERA. 

I  propose  to  relate  some  of  the  small  thefts,  on 
a  large  scale,  done  in  Alabama  by  the  Agents  of  the 
party  which  swayed  the  government  from  1860. 

There  is,  as  every  one  knows,  a  law  regulating  thM 
recording  of  deeds  and  mortgages,  and  the  fee  for 
such  services  in  1868  was  twenty  cents  per  hundred 
words.  The  probate  judge  certified  on  the  back  of 
the  instrument  that  it  was  recorded  in  a  certain  book 
on  a  certain  day.  The  scoundrels  in  office,  by  the 
grace  of  the  negro,  charged  in  addition,  fifty  cents 
for  the  certificate,  and  this  continued  until  we  turn- 
ed the  thieves  out  in  1876,  when,  with  a  different  set 
of  men,  it  was  decided  in  the  case  of  Wood  vs.  Till- 
man, that  the  charge  was  illegal.  The  case  is  report- 
ed in  58  Ala.  Page  578. 

When  one  considers  that  in  some  counties  thous- 
ands of  such  papers  were  recorded  each  year,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  the  amount  stolen  from  the  people  in 
eight  years  was  nearly  a  million  dollars  by  this  meth- 
od. Then,  after  bankrupting  the  people,  so  they 
could  not  pay  their  taxes,  their  lands  were  advertised 
and  sold  by  the  tax  collector.  If  a  man  owned  a 
section  of  land,  which  is  composed  of  sixteen  forty- 
acre  tracts,  they  would  advertise  each  forty  separ- 
ately; charge  a  dollar  for  levying  and  a  dollar  for 
selling  besides  the  printer's  fee;  so  that  the  owner 
had  to  pay  thirty-two  dollars,  instead  of  two.  Some 
who  owned  several  thousands  acres  of  land  were 
treated  in  this  manner.     The  papers  had  to  print 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      211 

extras  to  hold  the  advertisements,  and  sometimes 
half  the  land  in  the  county  was  sold  for  taxes.  This 
state  of  things  existed  until  1874,  when  the  case  of 
Gachet  vs.  McCall,  50  Ala.  307,  was  decided,  and 
another  particular  form  of  theft  was  abolished.  The 
price  of  marriage  license  was  two  dollars,  but  one 
official  had  some  printed  with  pictures,  and  "only 
three  dollars,  my  friend"  got  to  be  famous. 

A.  G.  S.  RAILROAD. 

There  was  a  law  passed  by  the  legislature  of  1868, 
composed  mainly  of  negroes,  carpet  bag  thieves,  and 
adventurers,  giving  endorsement  of  the  state  to  the 
amount  of  $16,000  per  mile  of  railroad  built.  The 
A.  G.  S.  railroad,  then,  under  another  name  was  be- 
ing built  and  $580,000  of  bonds  were  endorsed  for 
thirty-six  and  one-fourths  miles  of  the  road  in  ex- 
cess of  its  length,  and  which  had  no  existence,  a 
clear  steal ;  but,  by  a  decision  of  our  Supreme  court, 
composed  of  democrats,  the  holders  of  these  bonds 
being  innocent,  were  protected,  and  we  have  been 
paying  interest  on  them  ever  since.  The  case  is 
found  in  64  Ala.  Page  127.  Counties  were  author- 
ized to  issue  bonds  in  aid  of  railroads  on  a  vote  of 
citizens,  and  it  is  related  that  on  election  day  at 
Opelika,  the  trains  were  crowded  with  negroes.  A 
free  barbecue  was  given,  and  the  colored  brother 
nobly  voted  bonds  to  his  carpet  bag  friend.  Five 
counties  of  the  state  were  in  this  manner  made  bank- 
rupt, and  for  a  long  time  under  special  laws  were 
known  as  "strangulated"  counties.  It  were  impossi- 
ble in  the  space  of  a  newspaper  article  to  enumerate 
the  ingenious  devices  of  these  unprincipled  repre- 


212      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

sentatives  of  the  "God  and  morality  party"  for  rob- 
bing a  helpless  people. 

The  law  then  allowed  officials,  administrators,  and 
guardians  to  give  security  on  their  bonds,  residing 
anywhere  in  the  state.  These  places  were  filled  in 
almost  every  instance,  by  the  worst  of  men.  I  have 
seen  in  the  Commissioners'  court  of  Lowndes,  a 
very  thick-lipped,  coal-black  negro,  and  a  white  man 
whom  the  United  States  government  had  put  in  the 
penitentiary  for  a  year,  levying  the  taxes  for  the 
county.  Out  of  a  jury  of  twelve,  nine  were  negroes 
trying  another  negro  for  the  murder  of  a  town  mar- 
shal, and,  of  course,  the  defendant  was  acquitted. 
There  are  unsatisfied  decrees  for  thousands  of  dol- 
lars in  the  Probate  courts  of  the  black  belt,  in  fa- 
vor of  widows  and  orphans,  against  administrators 
and  guardians  who  were  insolvent  as  were  their 
bondsmen. 

John  Hardy,  of  Selma,  was  a  bondsman  for  many 
of  these  creatures,  and  he  was  reputed  to  be  rich, 
but  his  case  in  68  Ala.  303,  shows  that  after  being 
imprisoned  for  a  time  he  proved  to  be  insolvent 
One  of  the  elect  taught  public  school,  but  he  planted 
and  cultivated  a  crop  of  cotton  with  his  colored  schol- 
ars. 

IN  HAYNEVILLE. 

To  overawe  the  whites  and  inspire  the  blacks,  a 
national  guard  was  organized  and  I  have  seen  Tom 
Armstrong  march  1,200  armed  with  guns,  pistols, 
sabres  and  clubs,  mostly  the  latter,  into  the  little 
town  of  Hayneville,  where  only  about  forty  white 
men  lived,  but  their  double-barrels  loaded  with  buck- 
shot were  behind  every  door,  and  when  the  white 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      213 

leaders  of  the  colored  mob  had  broken  the  head  out 
of  a  barrel  of  whiskey,  in  the  street,  and  the  elect 
became  boisterous,  their  leaders  were  told  that  if  one 
drop  of  blood  was  shed,  we  would  fire  on  them  and 
not  on  their  poor  tools.  There  was  a  very  quick  de- 
parture of  the  guard,  and  I  have  never  seen  it  parad- 
ed since.  There  was  a  rumor  that  in  the  woods,  near 
Gordonsville,  a  night  meeting  of  the  guard  would 
be  held.  Five  or  six  mischievous  boys  without  arms, 
on  horseback,  charged  them,  and  the  shouting  and 
tramp  of  horses  dispersed  the  patriots,  never  to  as- 
semble again. 

No  country  in  the  North  would  have  tolerated  this 
state  of  affairs  a  week,  and  it  may  be  asked  why  the 
Confederates  submitted.  We  knew  that  if  we  had 
acted  just  as  any  respectable  Northern  community 
would  act,  the  party  in  power  would  send  troops  and 
do  like  Sheridan  in  the  valley — burn  some  houses 
and  mills,  starve  a  few  white  women  and  babies,  and 
imprison  the  most  respectable  men  they  could  find, 
whether  innocent  or  guilty.  Some  of  the  best  men 
of  Sumpter  were  dragged  in  chains  to  Mobile,  and  I 
have  seen  a  detachment  of  soldiers  sent  twenty  miles 
to  camp  in  sight  of  an  election  being  held,  so  fearful 
were  the  saints  that  we  might  elect  a  decent  man. 
A  Confederate  possessed  of  over  $20,000,  had  to  get 
a  pardon  to  prevent  confiscation,  and  the  fees  charg- 
ed which  were  to  the  receiver  mere  bribes,  were 
enormous.  John  P.  Streety,  whose  shoes  the  official 
skunk  was  not  worthy  to  untie,  applied  for  his  to  him 
for  pardon,  and  the  low-born,  without  speaking  to 
him,  turned  to  his  secretary  and  said,  "Give  him  the 
papers  when  he  pays  you  $50."  Busteed,  disgracing 
the  office  of  the  district  judge  of  the  United  States, 
was  accused  of  every  crime  except  those  involving 


214      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

manliness.  He  took  high  ground,  and  refused  to  al- 
low lawyers  to  address  persons  in  his  court,  as  Gen- 
eral Morgan,  Governor  Watts,  Colonel  Troy,  etc.. 
because  they  were  titles  of  the  "rebellion,"  but  law- 
yers have  a  way  of  taking  care  of  themselves,  and 
the  wit  of  Sam  Rice  and  the  contemptous  treatment 
accorded  him  finally  compelled  respect.  Fern  Wood 
in  open  court,  told  Kiel,  another  vile  creature  on 
the  bench  as  judge  in  Eufaula,  that  he  was  a  dis- 
grace to  humanity,  to  the  bar,  to  the  bench,  con- 
temptible and  cowardly,  and  when  the  trembling 
creature  ordered  the  sheriff  to  arrest  Wood,  there 
were  fifty  men  ready  to  resist,  and  the  judge  re- 
signed. 

Sometimes  they  fell  out  with  each  other,  as  the 
case  in  54  Ala.,  Page  393,  will  show,  and  one  Re- 
publican governor  tried  to  hold  over  after  his  de- 
feat, but  a  judge  of  his  own  party,  who  hated  him 
adjourned  court  and  traveled  in  haste  to  Montgom- 
ery to  issue  a  warrant  which  ousted  him,  and  jus- 
tice was  done  through  motives  inspired  by  malice. 
No,  we  are  not  against  the  government,  but  we  de- 
spise the  politicians  who  refuse  to  allow  their  party 
to  be  respectable  in  the  South,  and  if  this  hasty 
view  of  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  enormities  prac- 
ticed by  it,  here  given,  is  not  enough  to  create 
and  keep  a  "solid  South,"  there  are  a  few  things, 
such  as  attempts  to  pass  force  bills,  taunts,  appoint- 
ment of  black  officials  to  positions  where  they  come 
in  contact  with  women  and  children,  and  the  like 
which  would  band  together  a  people  less  proud  and 
brave.  But  the  Confederates,  even  if  under  parole, 
got  some  fun  and  little  revenges  out  of  the  infamous 
crew. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      215 

After  the  Constitution  of  1868  was  fastened  on 
Alabama  by  fraud,  the  officials  pretendedly  elected 
at  the  same  time  took  their  seats.  By  reason  of  the 
disfranchisement  of  numbers  of  its  best  citizens  the 
negroes  in  Butler  county  had  chosen  one  Gardner  as 
probate  judge.  He  was  a  very  superior  sort  of  per- 
son, who  talked  down  at  a  rebel  as  a  very  inferior 
sort  of  man,  but  was  very  affable  toward  his  colored 
equal  who  voted  for  him. 

FEARLESS  YOUNG  MEN. 

There  were  a  number  of  boys  who  were  too  young 
to  go  into  war,  and  consequently  were  not  under 
parole,  but  who  had  grown  to  be  strong  young  men, 
without  fear  of  the  devil  or  his  imps,  as  they  con- 
ceived Gardner  to  be.  The  latter,  with  some  of  his 
associates,  had  a  public  speaking  at  Greenville,  and 
the  boys,  Frank  Gafford  of  this  city  among  them, 
hung  around  on  the  outskirts,  and  when  some  par- 
ticularly objectionable  fling  was  made  at  the  whites, 
a  loud  voice  would  cry  out,  "That's  a  d — d  lie  No. 
1,"  and  when  another  came,  "That's  a  d — d  lie  No. 
2,"  and  so  on.  At  a  meeting  in  the  court  house  at 
night  one  of  the  speakers,  addressing  the  colored 
men,  said,  "You  have  as  much  right  as  any  man 
to  write  a  note  to  one  of  the  young  white  ladies, 
asking  for  her  company  to  church."  The  boys  at 
once  ran  to  Dan  Dunklin's  store,  filled  their  pockets 
with  eggs,  and  returning,  bombarded  the  speaker 
and  his  associates,  and  the  colored  audience,  which 
immediately  stampeded.  A  few  pistol  shots  into 
the  air  hastened  their  departure.  Of  course  the 
affair  was  published  North  as  a  Southern  outrage, 
and  when  the  elder  men  of  the  town  got  hold  of  it 


216      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

there  would  have  been  a  lynching,  only  the  speaker 
fled  town  in  haste. 

If  one  could  realize  how,  under  the  promise  of 
"forty  acres  and  a  mule"  unlimited  license,  and  the 
hope  of  associating  with  white  girls  as  their  beaux, 
the  inflammable  state  of  the  negro  mind,  he  might 
appreciate  the  result  of  such  teachings,  for  such 
speeches  made  on  that  night  and  others  like  it  all 
over  the  land,  and  the  teachings  of  vile  newspapers, 
viler  politicians  and  yet  viler  preachers,  saints  at 
long  range,  inspired  the  negro  to  commit  that  pe- 
culiar crime  which  brings,  and  always  will  bring 
death,  North  or  South.  The  negro  would  have  been 
benefitted  if  that  speaker  and  all  like  him  had  been 
put  to  death  at  once.  The  boys  formed  a  club  for 
deposing  Gardner  and  drew  lots,  the  first  falling  to 
Bill  Payne,  who,  the  next  Monday,  walked  into  Gard- 
ener's office  and  with  one  blow  of  his  fists  knocked 
him  senseless  and  walked  out,  not  a  word  being  said. 
The  next  Monday,  Jim  Brunson  did  the  same  thing 
in  the  same  way,  and  it  went  around  the  club  every 
Monday,  until  it  came  Payne's  turn  again.  He  put 
on  a  pair  of  huge  spurs,  dragged  Gardener  to  the 
court  house  door,  mounting  on  his  back  and  spur- 
ring him  vigorously,  rode  him  to  the  door  of  a  bar- 
room. Calling  up  a  colored  man,  he  compelled  him 
to  hold  his  unwilling  steed  whilst  the  rider  went  in 
and  took  a  drink,  then  coming  out,  he  rode  him  back 
to  his  office  with  many  a  dig  of  the  spur. 

Gardner  resigned. 
The  prosecutions  in  the  United  States  court  against 
the  boys  were  dismissed,  and  Butler  county  has 
never  had  a  carpet  bag  probate  judge  since,  nor  has 
a  negro  been  lynched  for  the  peculiar  crime.  We 
paroled  Confederates  enjoyed  the  affair  immensely. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      217 

At  Rutledge,  three  of  the  elect  advertised  public 
speaking,  and  a  committee  of  white  men  demanded 
a  division  of  time,  which,  after  some  objections., 
was  granted.  Of  course  the  elect  had  the  opening 
speech,  at  the  close  of  which  our  speaker  got  up, 
every  colored  man  left  the  house,  which  so  enraged 
the  whites  that  they  ran  a  skirmish  line  around  the 
square,  and  with  fence  rails,  sticks  and  brush,  drove 
every  darkey  up  stairs  to  hear  a  decent  man  speak 
Up  to  a  few  years  ago  only  one  white  man  in  Cren- 
shaw county  ever  voted  the  negro  ticket.  He  was 
half  witted  and  the  Hard-Shell  Baptists  turned  him 
out  of  the  church  for  this  disobedience  to  what  they 
conceived  to  be  divine  law. 

Our  grandchildren  may  read  in  some  histories 
about  the  "solid  South,"  "the  long  haired  barbari- 
ans," and  a  few  other  choice  epithets  applied  by  so- 
called  gentlemen  to  their  ancestors,  but  the  facts 
here  narrated  will  go  in  the  history  of  reconstruc- 
tion now  being  written  by  a  Virginian,  and  future 
generations  will  take  pride  in  the  fact  that  instead  of 
a  race  of  mongrels,  the  purest  stock  from  the  Brit- 
ish Isles  yet  dominates  their  native  states. 

I  have  refrained  from  relating  many  events  and 
giving  names,  because  of  the  pain  it  might  inflict  on 
some  innocent  kin,  and  on  others  who  have  suffer- 
ed from  being  in  bad  company  yet  living,  but  I  have 
lived  to  see  most  of  the  actors  in  that  carnival  of 
crime  live  and  die  miserably. 

GETTYSBURG  IN  1903 

.  Ever  since  those  fateful  days  in  July,  1863,  I  have 
wondered,  not  that  Hoods'  division  did  not  take  Lit- 
tle Round  Top,  but  that  we  succeeding  in  going  as 


218      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

far  as  we  did  go,  I  spent  three  days  of  last  week  on 
the  ground,  and  it  is  still  a  mystery  to  me  that  we 
wrested  cannon  and  precipitous  heights  from  even 
a  skirmish  line. 

I  went  this  time  in  a  palace  car,  and  with  an  ac- 
cident policy,  but  the  travel  is  more  wearisome  with 
people  who  ride  in  cars  where  even  the  tots  are 
offish  in  their  demeanor,  and  the  grown  folks  seem 
to  expect  deference  because  they  occupy  seats  ob- 
tainable by  extra  cash.  In  the  smoker  the  flavor  of 
conversation  is  apt  to  be  coarse,  and  no  one  but  the 
brakeman  could  point  out  King's  mountain,  where 
was  fought  the  battle  which  is  said  to  have  been  the 
turning  point  of  the  revolutionary  war.  If  you  want 
to  remain  ignorant  of  the  country  through  which 
you  travel,  ride  in  a  Pullman.  Passing  South  and 
West  of  Appomattox  we  came  to  Lynchburg,  of 
which  Sut  Lovengood  said  that  when  Providence  fin- 
ished and  painted  it,  it  was  turned  on  its  side  to 
dry  and  left  in  that  position.  There  in  the  early 
days  of  the  war  from  every  parlor  window  floated 
the  strains  of  "Maryland,  My  Maryland,"  delighting 
the  ears  of  the  wounded  soldiers,  but  the  town  has 
grown  far  to  the  south  now. 

CHARLOTTESVILLE. 

The  people  in  the  car  could  only  talk  but  my 
friend,  the  rear  brakeman,  could  tell  me  things.  So 
I  rode  a  hundred  miles  with  him  on  the  rear  plat- 
form, and  in  the  waning  daylight  and  soft  moon- 
light he  pointed  out  Charlottesville,  the  cupola  of 
the  university.  Orange,  Rapidan,  Culpepper,  Bran- 
dy, Rappahannock,  Catlett's,     Bristow,     Manassas. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      219 

Bull  Run  and  Fairfax,  names  familiar  to  the  surviv- 
ors of  Lee's  veterans.  What  a  throng  of  crowding 
recollections  rushed  on  me  as  I  recalled  the  tramps 
through  mud  and  snow  or  under  the  blazing  sun  past 
these  places  in  the  happy  days  long  gone,  with  the 
gay  and  gallant  spirits,  the  brave  and  jolly  com- 
rades whose  familiar  faces  rose  before  me,  and 
whose  souls  communed  with  mine  till  the  brakeman 
wondered  at  my  silence. 

Those  marches  were  less  tiresome  than  the  car 
journey,  and  the  simple  meal  of  bacon  and  hard  tack 
cross  legged  on  the  ground  were  more  enjoyable  than 
the  feast  off  silver,  china  and  cut  glass  in  the  din- 
ing car,  for  did  we  then  not  have  youth  and  hope 
and  freedom? 

Taking  the  first  train  out  of  Washington  we  cross- 
ed the  Monocacy,  where  Early  wrestled  with  Lew 
Wallace  for  the  brigade,  then  Keedysville,  the  near- 
est railroad  point  to  Sharpsburg.  We  crossed  the 
Antietam  three  miles  above  the  battleground  and 
came  to  Hagerstown,  where  the  colored  driver  who 
transferred  me  to  the  other  depot  had  served 
through  the  war  as  servant  to  one  of  Rosser's  cav- 
alry officers,  and  the  only  occupant  of  the  carriage 
besides  myself  was  a  very  old  lady  who  on  being  in- 
formed that  I  was  a  rebel,  snapped  out  vigorously 
"I  am  a  rebel  to  the  bone.  I  saw  fighting  in  front 
of  my  house."  The  dinner  at  the  hotel  was  good  ex- 
cept the  beef,  which  reminded  me  of  some  of  the 
camp  beef  we  used  to  have.  I  saw  no  corn  bread 
on  the  trip  until  on  the  return  I  reached  Mount  Airy, 
Ga.  Our  Southern  negroes  must  be  a  failure  in  the 
North,  since  they  have  not  learned  their  friends  the 
value  of  hoecake. 


220      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

A  GOODLY  SIGHT. 

It  is  a  goodly  sight  to  see  that  land  with  small  but 
fertile  farms,  the  waving  corn,  stacks  of  wheat, 
clover  and  the  burdened  apple  trees,  some  of  them 
resembling  in  the  distance  giant  rose  bushes.  Some 
twenty  miles  this  side  of  Gettysburg  are  two  sum- 
mer resorts,  Beauna  Vista  and  Pen  Mar  and  crowds 
of  pretty  girls,  all  bare  headed,  thronged  the  sta- 
tions. Arriving  at  Gettysburg  about  3  :30  I  took  the 
trolley  for  Little  Round  Top,  arriving  there  about 
the  same  time  we  charged  on  July  2,  1863.  I  recog- 
nized the  precipitous  rocks  over  Devil's  Den  and  as 
soon  as  I  came  in  sight  and  got  off  the  car  to  walk 
the  rest  of  the  day.  A  gain  I  stood  on  the  spot  where 
I  stood  over  forty  years  ago.  Above  us  then,  quite 
twenty  feet,  on  the  edge  of  the  rock  stood  a  line  of 
blue  coated  United  States  regulars  firing  straight 
down  at  our  line  which  had  become  broken  in  pass- 
ing over  and  around  the  huge  boulders  which  barred 
our  way.  Here  fell  the  gallant  Muse  and  Lieu- 
tenant Mays  of  my  company,  shot  through  the  top 
of  the  head  by  the  almost  vertical  fire.  Muse  fell 
to  his  left,  striking  my  feet.  The  government  ave- 
nue passes  directly  over  the  spot  where  they  fell, 
and  just  beyond  is  an  iron  sign  with  the  words  "Dev- 
il's Den"  on  it. 

One  tradition  says  that  the  hunters  always  lost 
their  game  in  this  confused  mass  of  rock  and  another 
that  the  whistling  of  the  wind  in  the  ravine  caused 
the  superstitious  early  German  settlers  to  give  the 
suggestive  appellation  to  the  fearsome  place.  Under 
the  cliff  a  spring  of  not  very  good  wa- 
ter has  been  excavated  in  the  rock.  I  easily 
found     among     the     rocks     the     cleft  up  which  I 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      221 

climbed  during  the  battle.  Then  I  had  to  throw  my 
rifle  forward  and  by  aid  of  the  rocks  on  either  side 
pull  up  and  repeat  the  operation.  Now,  without  a 
gun,  and  no  enemy  in  front,  I  found  it  difficult  to 
go  up  the  same  rugged  pathway,  and  again  I  had 
to  cling  to  the  rocks  to  get  up.  On  this  rugged  spur 
are  four  cannon,  representing  the  artillery  in  the 
battle  and  we  took  and  carried  away  three  guns — 
being  the  only  captured  artillery  of  that  day's  fight 
carried  off  by  our  army. 

To  the  left  the  spur  is  more  accessible,  but  bould- 
ers from  the  size  of  a  cow  to  an  omnibus  are  scat- 
tered all  over  its  southern  face,  and  again  I  won- 
dered how  the  left  of  Bennings'  brigade — some  of 
Laws  and  the  Texas  could  have  driven  away  even  a 
skirmish  line  and  taken  those  guns.  All  the  Second 
Georgia  could  do  was  to  employ  the  men  on  the 
precipice  over  our  heads.  We  remained  on  this 
spur  all  July  3  under  fire  from  Little  Round  Top, 
which  three  regiments  of  Law's  and  and  two  of  the 
Texas  tried  in  vain  to  take  and  no  wonder.  I  fired 
that  day  many  times  at  an  officer  in  a  white  shirt 
serving  the  cannon.  Many  of  my  comrades  also  did 
and  on  that  spot  is  a  monument  to  a  general  and  a 
lieutenant  of  artillery. 

TOP  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN. 

I  climbed  not  without  great  exertion  to  the  top 
of  the  mountain,  which  is  as  steep  as  Red  mountain 
near  Twentieth  street  in  Birmingham,  quite  as  tall 
with  out-cropping  ledges  of  stones  and  boul- 
ders scattered  all  over  it.  Gen.  Warren  saw 
the  glint  of  Hoods'  bayonets  as  we  marched  to 
form  the  charge,  and  without  orders  carried  a  bri- 


222      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

gs.de  to  the  top  just  fifteen,  some  say  ten  minutes 
before  the  Alabamians  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill. 
A  skirmish  line  could  have  held  the  place,  so  in- 
accessable  is  it.  The  line  of  battle  of  the  union  forces 
was  about  five  miles  long  in  the  general  shape  of  a 
huge  fish  hook.  Gulps  is  at  the  point  of  the  hook 
and  Little  Round  Top  at  the  end  where  the  line  is 
tied.  The  village  of  Gettysburg  is  below  the  bend 
of  the  hook  and  was  in  our  lines  which  ran  along 
High  Street,  which  then  formed  the  eastern  boun- 
dary of  the  village,  and  the  cemetery  is  on  very 
high  ground,  and  gives  the  name  to  the  ridge,  which 
is  almost  inaccessable  except  where  Pickett  charged. 
In  many  places  are  the  earth  and  stone  breast  works 
which  sheltered  the  union  forces  who  seemed  to  need 
no  shelter  on  those  rock  bound  heights. 

Our  line  was  distant  about  one  mile  on  Seminary 
Ridge,  so  called  from  a  Lutheran  seminary  yet  there, 
and  was  about  six  miles  long.  The  enemy  having 
inside  line  could  and  did  reinforce  from  any  part  of 
the  line  across  to  threatened  points.  Pickett  charg- 
ed one  mile  and  a  quarter  in  an  open  field  and  whilst 
his  men  covered  this  distance  reserves  were  brought 
up  to  meet  him. 

There  are  over  five  hundred  monuments  on  the 
field  besides  markers  and  government  tablets;  some 
of  them  are  costly,  some  quaint  and  artistic.  Several 
in  granite  represent  the  sharpshooter  lying  behind 
a  pile  of  rocks  taking  aim.  One  in  white  marble  is 
a  perfect  representation  of  a  tent  with  a  canteen 
hanging  on  the  end  of  the  ridge  pole.  Many  of  the 
monuments  are  based  on  huge  boulders,  and  some  of 
them  are  fashioned  out  of  the  boulders.  At  the 
bloody  angle  is  an  altar,  approached  by  granite 
steps.     On  its  top  in  bronze  is  an  open  book  four 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      223 

feet  across  inscribed  at  the  top,  "High  Water  Mark 
of  the  Rebellion."  This  point  is  thick  with  monu- 
ments and  only  one,  that  of  Gen.  Armistead,  is  Con- 
federate. In  fact,  that  and  one  to  the  Second  Mary- 
land are  the  only  two  monuments  to  Confederates 
on  the  field. 

TABLETS  OF  BRIGADES. 

There  is  an  avenue  running-  along  the  respective 
lines  of  battle  and  iron  tablets  inform  the  visitors 
as  to  the  brigades,  regiments  and  batteries  occupy- 
ing the  position  before  the  battle  commenced.  There 
are  many  cannon  posted  at  points  actually  occupied 
by  batteries  during  the  battle.  I  walked  from  the 
town  along  the  union  line  over  Culp's  Hill  to  Spang- 
ler's  spring,  from  which  both  sides  got  water,  now 
beautifully  enclosed  by  the  government,  and  return- 
ed by  Confederate  avenue.  My  valuable  guide  could 
rattle  off  like  a  phonograph,  his  account  of  each 
scene,  but  I  stopped  him  with  the  statement  that  I 
knew  more  than  he  did,  but  the  carriage  stopped  at 
each  tablet  whilst  I  read  the  inscription  but  when  I 
got  again  to  Devil's  Den  the  fascination  overcame 
me,  and  I  dismissed  the  carriage. 

To  appreciate  the  scene,  to  breathe  again  the  spir- 
it one  must  walk  over  boulders  where  no  vehicle 
can  go,  and  I  wandered  on  foot  from  monument  to 
tablet  until  darkness.  The  squirrels  play  round  Dev- 
il's Den  and  I  disturbed  many  young  rabbits  in  the 
deep  grass  over  which  golden  rod  and  many  autumn 
flowers  cast  their  sunshine.  In  the  mouth  of  one 
cannon  a  bird  had  built  her  nest.  In  one  respect 
the  field  is  not  satisfactory.  Whilst  a  mile  over  yon- 
der the  tablets  tell  you  where  each  Confederate  reg- 
iment formed  its  line  of  battle,  when  you  get  into 


224      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

the  union  line  and  find  that  in  places  it  was  driven 
back  a  quarter  or  half  of  a  mile,  and  monuments  of 
union  regiments  are  thick  and  tell  of  fearful  losses, 
there  is  no  way  to  inform  the  visitor  who  inflicted 
these  losses,  or  what  command  overcame  rocks, 
heights  and  soldiers.  There  is  one  notable  excep- 
tion, one  monument  says  Barksdale's  brigade  drove 
them  300  yards  when  they  rallied  and  with  rein- 
forcements recovered  the  lost  ground. 

Another  monument  tells  that  its  colonel  was  kill- 
ed with  a  bayonet  on  that  spot,  trying  to  recapture 
his  flag,  but  does  not  inform  us  what  command  took 
the  flag. 

Owing  to  want  of  knowledge  of  the  ground  three 
of  Law's  and  two  of  the  Texas  regiments  fought  with 
Benning's  brigade,  separating  them  from  the  rest  of 
their  command.  Wofford's  brigade  nearly  cut  the 
enemies  line  and  gave  name  to  the  Valley  of  Death, 
but  there  is  nothing  to  inform  the  visitor  who  broke 
the  lines,  who  captured  the  guns,  who  scaled  the 
rocks  and  heights.  True  there  are  ponderous  maps 
in  town  that  tell  you  some  things,  but  not  one  visitor 
in  a  thousand  cares  for  or  remembers  the  maps.  He 
wants  to  see  for  himself  on  the  ground.  When  the 
Confederates  are  dead  and  their  grandchildren  visit 
the  field,  none  will  know  where  his  ancestors  fought. 
He  can  go  a  mile  away  and  see  where  he  started  to 
charge  and  that  is  all. 

BETTER  AT  CHICKAMAUGA. 

It  is  better  at  Chickamauga  where  the  tablets  will 
tell  you  who  fought  there.  Near  Viniards  the  Eighth 
Kansas  monument  states  that  regiment  lost  217  out 
of  409  and  just  in  front  the  monument  of  the  Sec- 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      225 

ond  Georgia  shows  who  fought  at  that  particular 
point  and  just  in  front  of  the  guns  and  tablets  show- 
ing the  capture  of  an  Indian  battery  on  Sunday  are 
the  rough  stones  showing  the  Second  Georgia  was 
there  in  the  fight.  A  Virginian  told  me  of  an  inci- 
dent which  illustrates  the  point.  As  the  guest  of  a 
Maryland  friend  he  was  inspecting  the  bloody  angle 
where  Armistead  fell  and  heard  a  guide  reeling  off 
in  metalic  tones  his  speech  about  the  things  done  by 
Meade  and  various  regiments  to  a  party  of  Boston 
people.  When  his  breath  gave  out  there  was  silence 
for  a  time  and  the  Virginia  veteran  said,  "Guide, 
it  seems  to  me  I  have  heard  that  a  man  named  Gen- 
eral Lee  was  here  with  some  friends  about  that  time 
but  you  forgot  to  tell  that."  There  were  smiles  and 
laughter  in  the  crowd  and  an  old  Boston  lady  came 
up  to  the  Confederate  and  told  him  that  he  was  the 
first  one  she  ever  saw,  made  him  partake  of  an  ele- 
gant lunch  with  plenty  of  champagne.  He  carried 
away  more  than  twenty  visiting  cards  and  pockets 
full  of  fine  cigars.  This  illustrates  what  you  see  at 
Gettysburg.  The  guide  books,  the  guide,  the  monu- 
ments tell  what  the  union  people  did  in  '63  but  not 
a  word  of  who  made  them  glorious  and  brave.  One 
can  see  from  the  broken  and  scattered  lines  of  monu- 
ments that  those  battle  lines  were  bent  and  broken 
in  places  by  somebody,  the  monuments  tell  of  reg- 
iments that  lost  one  quarter,  one  third,  or  one  half 
their  numbers.  Somebody  bent  or  broke  the  lines 
on  those  frowning  precipices,  somebody  overcame 
those  immense  boulders,  somebody  killed  and  wound- 
ed the  defenders,  but  who  did  it?  The  monuments 
and  tablets  do  not  tell  you.  Go  to  the  tablets  on 
Seminary  Ridge  a  mile  away  and  they  only  tell  you 


226      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

who  were  there,  not  who  on  diverging  lines  routed 
the  foe  from  almost  inaccessable  bluffs  and  hills. 

AT  DEVIL'S  DEN. 

At 'Devil's  Den  we  fought  the  regulars.  Nobody 
builds  a  monument  to  them,  but  a  tablet  shows  they 
occupied  that  position  and  their  loss  was  from  25 
to  50  per  cent  of  those  engaged.  They  must  have 
fought  well  but  how  about  the  men  who  took  can- 
non from  them  in  such  a  position?  Not  one  in  a 
thousand  among  the  numerous  visitors  will  ever 
know  that  Texans,  Alabamians,  and  Georgians  min- 
gled in  frightful  confusion  among  the  boulders  on 
Plum  Run  and  charged  those  heights.  It  would 
seem  that  it  would  gratify  the  survivors  and  advance 
their  glory  that  these  monuments  should  recite  that 
Law's  brigade  fought  here.  It  would  enhance  their 
glory  and  gratify  their  pride  to  tell  that  there  they 
met  the  flower  of  the  Southern  army,  but  it  is  not 
there.  To  me  it  seems  that  if  we  had  attacked  earlier 
in  the  day  or  if  Wofford  had  been  supported  at  the 
Valley  of  Death,  we  would  have  been  successful.  I 
cannot  see  how  there  was  any  chance  for  Pickett's 
and  Hill's  men  to  go  one  and  a  quarter  miles  in  the 
open  under  the  concentrated  fire  of  an  army  with 
any  hope  of  success.  The  great  Lee  saw  it  different- 
ly then. 

Gettysburg  contains  about  5000  people,  has  three 
banks,  water  works,  electric  lights,  a  car  line  and 
several  hotels.  The  influx  of  visitors  is  constant 
and  many  reunions  are  held  there.  The  people 
thrive  on  visitors  who  support  hotels,  carriages, 
guides  and  buy  souvenirs  of  every  kind.  The  gov- 
ernment employs  many  people  in  the  care  of  the 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      227 

grounds  and  extending  the  avenue.  The  park  com- 
missioners have  their  office  there,  among  them  be- 
ing Major  W.  M  Robbins,  formerly  of  the  Fourth 
Alabama  regiment,  who  sends  greetings  of  "God 
bless  you"  to  all  the  old  Confederates.  He  was  very 
courteous  and  being  the  only  Confederate  there,  is 
in  demand  for  a  speech  at  every  public  occasion,  and 
being  so  much  in  the  minority  probably  believes  like 
Pope  argued  that  "Whatever  is,  is  right." 

When  we  were  there  in  '63  and  for  many  years 
afterwards  we  were  "d — d  rebels."  Now  at  the 
hotels  at  Devil's  Den  and  other  points  when  I  met 
excursion  parties  and  told  them  I  was  a  rebel,  I  was 
politely  corrected  every  time.  One  young  lady,  very 
handsome  and  gentle,  who  was  informed  by  me  that 
I  fought  at  that  point  on  the  rebel  side,  said  with  an 
ahem,  "And  you  were  a  Confederate?"  Times  and 
people  have  changed  The  round  trip  fare  from 
Washington  is  $5.40,  from  Baltimore,  which  is  much 
more  convenient  it  is  much  less.  There  are  3500 
union  dead  buried  in  the  National  cemetery  and 
2900  Confederate  dead  were  removed  in  1879  and 
buried  in  Hollywood  at  Richmand,  but  numbers  of 
both  sides  are  still  being  found  in  excavating  for 
roads. 

Besides  several  shops  and  stores  in  which  souv- 
enirs are  sold  there  are  two  museums  containing 
relics  obtained  from  the  battle  field.  On  the  main 
street  near  the  square  is  an  old  wooden  pump,  seem- 
ingly out  of  place  in  a  town  having  modern  water- 
works, but  they  tell  you  Gen.  Early  watered  his  horse 
there  and  across  the  street  in  the  museum  is  the  old 
battered  pot  then  a  watering  trough.  Visitors  are 
shown  a  tree  in  the  street  with  a  fragment  of  a  shell 
imbedded  in  it,  and  a  two  story    house     near    the 


228      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

square  has  the  marks  of  several  shells  in  it  and  it 
is  related  that  many  Confederates  got  in  the  house 
but  a  shell  exploding  in  the  upper  story  made  them 
swarm  out.  Charley  Sturgis  of  this  city  tells  about 
a  comrade  calling  to  him  of  the  eatables  in  a  two- 
story  brick  house,  and  how  he  found  great  loaves 
of  bread  and  apple  butter  but  a  shell  made  him  leave 
hastily.    It  must  be  the  same  house. 

Farther  east  up  Baltimore  street  and  on  the  left 
or  Northern  side  is  a  brick  house  where  Jennie  Wade 
was  killed.  At  the  time  of  the  battle  a  woman  with 
a  babe  three  days  old  was  in  the  house  and  could  not 
be  moved.  The  union  generals  gave  orders  that  no 
pickets  must  use  the  house,  but  two  got  in  and  fired 
on  our  men  from  the  cellar  windows  and  of  course 
there  was  a  return  fire  as  our  people  did  not  know 
the  house  was  occupied  by  women.  Jennie  Wade 
was  behind  the  door  of  a  room  kneading  dough  and 
a  bullet  passed  through  both  door  shutters  and  killed 
her.  Her  picture  adorns  match  boxes,  and  almost 
everything  you  can  think  of.  Her  photographs  are 
on  sale  and  she  is  made  conscipuous.  Her  story  is 
told  with  every  circumstance  of  grief  and  horror. 
She  was  the  only  woman  killed  on  Northern  soil,  and 
I  heard  it  and  all  the  while  deploring  the  accident 
I  thought  of  the  thousands  of  delicate  women  and 
children  who  were  driven  out  of  Atlanta  by  Sher- 
man, to  starve  and  die  whilst  he  burnt  their  homes, 
and  of  the  other  thousands  driven  out  of  Columbia 
when  he  burned  that  city,  and  of  the  numberless 
women  and  babes  left  to  die  of  starvation  by  Sheri- 
dan when  he  ravaged  the  valley  of  Virginia.  They 
were  the  wives  and  children  of  rebels  and  it  was  all 
right  for  them  to  die  and  they  got  no  pictures,  no 
sympathy.  Such  is  the  difference  between  mine  and 
thine. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      229 

In  this  house  is  a  museum  of  field  relics,  among 
them  some  ancient  dueling  pistols,  watches  and 
quaint  weapons  of  all  kinds.  One  in  particular  ar- 
rested my  attention.  It  was  a  gold  chain  with  lock- 
et attached  and  a  ring  of  curious  workmanship.  It 
represents  clasped  hands,  and  the  ring  could  be 
opened,  displaying  springs,  but  on  being  shut  the 
hands  again  clasped.  The  picture  in  the  locket  had 
faded  as  it  lay  on  the  ground  nearly  forty  years, 
but  the  chain  and  ring  are  still  perfect.  From  the 
position  where  it  was  found,  I  suppose  one  of  Early's 
corps  once  wore  it,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that  there 
is  no  way  for  a  stranger  to  ascertain  what  particu- 
lar Confederates  fought  at  that  or  any  other  point, 
the  relatives  of  the  owner  of  the  ring  may  never  be 
found. 

FIRST  DAY'S  FIGHT. 

The  first  days'  fight  commenced  some  three  or  four 
miles  west  of  the  town.  For  a  time  Hill's  troops  had 
all  they  could  do  to  drive  the  enemy.  Gen.  Reynolds 
came  on  the  field  with  his  division,  but  an  Arkan- 
sas sharpshooter  named  Dunlap  killed  him  and  about 
noon  Early  came  from  York  to  the  north  and  the 
Federals  were  driven  in  great  confusion  through  the 
town.  Charley  Sturgis  says  he  fired  300  rounds  that 
day  and  had  60  rounds  left  as  the  enemy  threw  away 
their  ammunition.  Late  in  the  evening  our  bugles 
sounded  the  recall  whilst  the  enemy  was  fleeing  in 
the  utmost  confusion  to  their  reserves  posted  near 
the  cemetery.  The  survivors  still  assert  that  they 
could  have  taken  the  heights  that  evening,  but  when 
one  sees  the  numerous  cannons  pointing  in  almost 
every  direction  on  those  heights  which  are  said  to 


230      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

be  in  the  exact  place  then  occupied  by  them,  one  may 
doubt  it.  Culp's  hill  is  508  feet  above  the  plane  from 
which  the  field  has  been  measured,  which  is  consid- 
erably taller  than  Red  mountain  or  Duffey's  moun- 
tain at  Blount  Springs.  It  is  rugged,  steep  and  there 
are  outcropping  ledges  of  rock  and  boulders  over  its 
face  for  two  miles.  Hayes'  Louisiana  brigade 
mounted  these  steeps,  took  the  earth  works  and  held 
them  till  nearly  all  were  slaughtered  as  their  support 
did  not  come  up.  From  the  angle  where  Pickett 
charged  to  Little  Round  Top,  nearly  two  miles,  the 
union  line  was  broken  at  nearly  every  point,  some- 
times pushed  back  nearly  half  a  mile,  but  we  had  no 
reserves,  no  fresh  troops  to  crush  the  broken  line 
which  rallied  and  with  reinforcements  drove  our 
men  back. 

STRUGGLE  OF  GIANTS. 

It  was  a  struggle  of  giants  and  one  cannot  fail  to 
be  impressed  as  was  Lincoln  when  he  made  his  ad- 
dress in  November  following  the  battle.  Even  with 
all  the  hate  and  fury  of  war  time,  he  said  that  he 
was  proud  of  the  Americans  who  charged  those 
heights,  and  no  Southerner  need  feel  otherwise  when 
he  visits  the  field.  It  will  forcibly  strike  every  vis- 
itor that  there  was  a  great  mistake  in  not  having 
some  monuments  or  tablets  to  show  what  particu- 
lar command  fought  at  particular  points.  All  hon- 
or to  that  brigade  which  placed  on  its  monument  that 
it  was  driven  by  Barksdale's  Mississippians  300 
yards.  If  they  were  driven  and  they  frankly  state 
it,  they  can  feel  that  they  met  gallant  foemen.  There 
were  privates  in  those  Mississippi  regiments  the 
equals  in  wealth,  social  position  and  culture  of  any 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      231 

general  on  either  side.  Instead  of  detracting  from 
the  fame  of  their  successful  defense,  it  will  add  to 
their  pride  to  know  that  Wilcox's,  Rhodes  or  Law's 
Alabamians  or  the  Texans  or  Georgians  or  Carolin- 
ians, the  very  flower  of  Lee's  army  drove  them  from 
those  apparently  impregnable  heights,  and  wrestled 
on  that  spot  for  victory.  I  have  given  the  elevation 
of  Culp's  hill  on  the  left,  Round  Top  on  our  right  is 
664  feet.  Little  Round  Top  548;  Cemetery  Ridge 
500,  the  angle  where  Pickett  and  Pender  charged, 
472 ;  Peach  orchard,  467,  the  hill  above  Devil's  Den, 
440  feet.  Red  Mountain  is  400  feet  above  the  rail- 
road tracks  at  the  depot  in  Birmingham,  so  one  can 
get  an  idea  of  the  heights,  but  over  half  the  line  was 
covered  by  ledges  and  boulders,  rendering  it  impos- 
sible for  any  troops  to  keep  in  line  as  they  charged. 

When  opportunity  offers  I  shall  again  visit  the 
field  and  I  am  sure  that  any  of  the  survivors  of  that 
conflict  will  enjoy  a  view  of  the  heights  which  frown- 
ed on  us  in  1863. 

Felix  McLaughlin,  our  tax  assessor,  was  wound- 
ed as  Wilcox's  brigade  neared  the  enemy's  line.  He 
got  to  a  lime  sink  and  protected  from  fire,  watched 
our  men  fall  as  they  climbed  the  hills.  He  told  me  to 
find  the  place  and  I  found  one  among  numerous 
sinks,  but  there  is  no  table  or  monument  to  tell 
where  Wilcox's  men  fought  and  part  of  that  divis- 
ion after  breaking  the  Federal  line  wheeled  and 
fought  with  their  backs  to  another  part  of  the  same 
division  which  had  wheeled  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. I  have  government  maps  in  my  office  but  they 
are  not  object  lessons  like  tablets  or  monuments  on 
the  spot.  If  the  government  does  not  allow  Confed- 
erate monuments  where  the  commands  fought,  the 
field  will  always  be  one  sided  history.     The  broken 


232      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

lines  of  the  federal  monuments  negatively  tell  that 
somebody  fought  there,  but  in  a  few  years  none  will 
be  left  to  tell  who  they  were.  It  is  passing  strange 
that  the  Federal  losses  in  the  battle  were  some  thous- 
ands greater  than  the  Confederate.  When  it  is  re- 
membered that  our  line  charged  a  mile  in  the  open, 
under  fire  from  artillery,  and  then  had  to  climb  hills 
rugged  with  boulders  which  formed  excellent  pro- 
tection to  the  defenders,  and  then  inflicted  more 
damage  than  they  suffered,  it  takes  official  reports 
to  convince  one  that  such  could  be  the  result. 

DEVIL'S  DEN. 

Near  the  wild  gorge,  Devil's  Den,  part  of  Hood's 
division  captured  1100  prisoners  and  Company  H 
of  the  Fifteenth  Alabama  was  detailed  to  guard 
them.  The  Seventh  Georgia  was  put  on  our  flank 
to  guard  against  the  Federal  cavalry,  and  Farns- 
worth  charged  over  them  and  in  our  rear  on  July  3, 
with  sabers  flashing  in  the  sun  and  with  great  shout- 
ing they  came  on,  but  one  of  our  batteries  charged 
them  and  the  stragglers  fired  on  them.  From  the 
Knoll  over  Devil's  Den  we  watched  their  destruc- 
tion, but  we  had  gathered  and  loaded  the  guns  of 
the  dead  and  wounded  and  prepared  to  fight  front 
and  rear.  It  is  now  told  at  Gettysburg  that  after 
being  shot  from  his  horse  Farnsworth  killed  him- 
self. On  the  field  that  day  we  heard  that  after  be- 
ing wounded  he  killed  with  his  pistol  one  of  our  men 
who  demanded  his  surrender,  and  another  shot  him. 
His  commission  as  brigadier  came  next  day. 

In  memory  yet  I  can  see  the  500  sabers  flashing  in 
the  sunlight  and  hear  the  shouts  of  those  blue-coated 
cavalrymen,  as  they  came  in  our  rear  in  the  open 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      233 

wheat  field.  There  is  a  monument  to  Farnsworth, 
but  none  to  the  battery  which  without  supports 
rushed  its  guns  through  the  field  against  the  charg- 
ing cavalry  and  poured  into  them  cannister  at  close 
range.  On  the  ridge  beyond  is  a  tablet,  showing 
that  Reilly's  and  Bachman's  batteries  were  opposite 
and  we  heard  that  day  that  the  battery  which  charg- 
ed was  from  Augusta,  Ga.,  commanded  by  a  German. 
I  saw  it  from  a  distance,  but  do  not  know  which  bat- 
tery did  the  work.  Its  glorious  bravery  merits  a 
tablet  or  a  monument  on  the  spot. 

BRAVE  ACTION. 

The  bravest  thing  I  ever  saw  Benning's  brigade 
do  occurred  on  the  evening  of  the  third,  after  Pickett 
and  Pender  were  repulsed. 

We  had  orders  to  leave  the  hill  over  Devil's  Den 
one  at  a  time  and  form  in  the  field  at  its  foot.  Un- 
der a  terriffc  fire  from  Little  Round  Top  our  men 
formed,  although  now  and  then  a  man  went  down. 
They  told  off  by  numbers,  faced  right  and  marched 
off  in  perfect  time  and  order.  As  we  passed  over 
Plum  Run  I  kneeled  to  get  a  drink  of  water,  and 
running  to  my  place  a  head,  one  of  the  Fifteenth 
Georgia  raised  his  musket  to  brain  me  for  running. 
Our  faces  were  so  covered  with  powder  that  he  did 
not  recognize  me.  This  will  give  an  idea  of  the  spirit 
of  the  men  who  charged  those  heights. 

When  Prof.  Sam.  L.  Robinson  read  that  there 
were  no  monuments  to  tell  where  Confederates 
fought,  he  wrote  a  poem,  two  stanzas  of  which  are 
here  given: 


234      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

"Not  a  monument  found  on  the  dark,  bloody- 
ground, 
To  tell  of  the  laurels  there  won, 
By  the  most  gallant  lads,  in  the  steadiest  squads, 

That  ever  yet  carried  a  gun ; 
Not  a  monument  there — on  those  heights — in  those 
vales, 
To  tell  to  our  sons  true  battlefield  tales. 

"When  they  climbed  up  those  hills — when  they 
tempted  the  will 
Of  the  Gods  in  the  struggle,  may  be, 
Did  the  foe  leave  their  post  at  the  sight  of  a  ghost? 

Was  there  nothing  that  caused  them  to  flee? 
Will  they  say  to  the  world  that  those  brave  men  of 
theirs 
Surrendered  their  guns  to  an  army  of  hares?" 

A  POST  BELLUM  AFFAIR 

Paroled,  ragged,  hungry  and  threadbare,  at  Ap- 
pomatox  on  April  12,  1865,  I  left  the  slow  marching 
brigade  (Benning's),  and  with  Wm.  Young,  of  the 
Seventeenth  Georgia,  procured  direction  from  Gen- 
eral Jubal  Early,  made  my  way,  dependent  for  food 
on  the  kindness  of  the  people  along  the  eastern  slope 
of  the  Blue  Ridge  to  Spartanburg,  S.  C.,  where  we 
first  journeyed  over  part  of  a  broken  railroad.  While 
alternately  riding  over  the  fragments  of  railroads 
Sherman  had  not  destroyed  and  walking,  Young 
parted  from  me  to  go  to  his  Georgia  home.  I  lost 
my  hat  when  asleep  in  a  freight  car,  but  for  two 
Confederate  dollars  purchased  another  very  ancient 
one,  which  now  one  would  hardly  pick  up  with  a  pair 
of  tongs. 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      235 

Reaching  West  Point,  Ga.?  about  sundown,  April 
29,  I  was  overjoyed  to  meet  with  Lawson  McKelvey, 
one, of  the  color  guards  of  the  Twentieth  Georgia. 
At  Gettysburg  a  shrapnel  had  burst  just  at  the  flag 
destroying  more  than  half  of  it,  killing  three  or  four 
of  the  guard  and  wounding  McKelvey  in  twenty-two 
places,  extending  from  his  ear  along  his  left  shoul- 
der and  arm  to  the  wrist.  He  was  placed  in  the  am- 
bulance corps  and  did  his  duty  faithfully  to  the  end. 
He  was  a  gallant  soldier,  a  faithful  friend,  and  there 
is  one  who  wafts  kindly  wishes  at  him  for  "auld 
lang  syne." 

We  traveled  the  river  road  until  late  that  night, 
sleeping  on  the  side  of  a  rocky, hill  and  next  morn- 
ing, Sunday,  reached  the  house  of  a  friend,  Hop 
Smith,  as  he  was  familiarly  known,  one  of  the  best 
men  and  neighbors  and  a  friend  of  my  boyhood  who 
had  often  given  me  words  of  homespun  wisdom.  His 
wife,  yet  living,  was  and  is  a  benediction  on  all 
who  knew  her. 

While  breakfast  was  preparing,  I  saw  tears  on 
her  face,  and  surprised  at  such  a  welcome,  I  inquir- 
ed the  reason.  Then  she  told  me  how  wretched  she 
felt  at  my  home-coming  in  such  clothes.  I  told  her 
I  would  get  more  when  I  reached  my  people,  but 
she  sadly  shook  her  head,  and  with  many  sobs  told 
me  that  my  trunk  containing  all  I  had  in  the  way  of 
worldly  possessions  had  been  stolen  by  deserters.  I 
made  light  of  the  matter,  but  not  so  with  her. 

Reaching  my  relatives,  I  met  a  welcome  not  ap- 
parently affected  by  the  apparel  I  wore,  and  learned 
that  when  Wilson's  raid,  which  took  place  in  Selma 
and  Montgomery  and  scattered  destruction  in  its 
path,  was  expected,  the  neighbors  made  up  a  train  of 
wagons  to  take  valuables  across  the  Chattahoochee 


236      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

into  the  hills  of  Harris  county  to  escape  robbing  by 
the  raiders.  My  cousin  put  in  a  wagon  my  trunk 
with  all  nyy  clothes  and  valuables,  some  of  their  best 
dresses,  400  pounds  of  cured  bacon,  then  most  valu- 
able, and  some  other  household  effects,  and  a  young 
negro  was  sent  in  charge  of  the  wagon,  which  form- 
ed the  rear  guard  of  the  team.  After  crossing  Soap 
Creek  near  its  mouth,  the  horses  balked  at  a  hill. 
Some  men  came  out  of  the  woods  and  told  the  negro 
to  go  to  a  house  near  by  and  get  help.  On  his  re- 
turn he  found  the  wagon  emptied  of  its  contents 
and  no  one  had  been  able  to  trace  the  goods  or  the 
theives,  and  since  about  three  weeks  had  elapsed, 
all  hopes  of  finding  them  had  been  given  up. 

Clothes  being  a  necessity,  I  went  to  Columbus,  and 
learning  there,  that  owing  to  some  influence  a  lot  of 
Confederate  clothes  had  not  been  burned,  I  went  to 
John  Mott,  formerly  aid  to  General  Benning  and 
told  him  I  must  have  two  suits.  He  denied  any 
knowledge  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  goods,  but  I 
told  him  unless  he  allowed  me  to  take  what  I  wanted 
I  would  get  my  old  comrades  and  we  would  break 
into  the  building  and  divide  the  Confederate  stores, 
as  I  felt  I  was  rightly  entitled  to  a  share.  He  fin- 
ally led  n:e  into  an  alley,  then  up  a  stairway,  across 
a  building  down  another,  and  finally  into  an  open 
room  where  there  were  hundreds  of  suits  of  Confed- 
erate jeans,  cut  out  and  tied  up  ready  for  the  ma- 
kers. I  selected  two  and  my  cousins  with  deft  hands 
converted  them  into  clothes  so  that  I  was  clad  in 
what  was  then  an  honorable  uniform.  But  the  sense 
of  injury  on  the  loss  of  my  trunk  and  my  cousin's 
property  was  strong,  and  the  instinct  of  revenge 
stronger,  especially  when  it  was  suspected  that  some 
deserters  had  stolen  the  goods.     With  the  soldiers 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      237 

a  deserter  was  not  supposed  to  have  much  more 
rights  than  a  snake. 

After  some  days  I  borrowed  from  Sam  Lowther 
a  derringer,  the  only  pistol  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
I  think  he  said  it  was  his  grandfather's  dueling  pis- 
tol, and  taking  some  fishing  tackle,  clad  in  my  worn 
uniform,  I  made  my  way  to  the  place  where  the 
wagon  was  robbed,  confident  with  my  experience  as 
a  scout,  even  after  the  lapse  of  three  weeks  I  could 
find  traces  of  the  missing  property.  Arriving  after 
a  walk  of  four  miles  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  where  the 
robbery  took  place  I  found  in  the  woods  on  the  side 
of  the  road  toward  the  river  where  the  dead  brush 
had  been  tramped  upon,  and  by  following  it  there 
was  a  pretty  fair  trail  to  the  river,  distant  about 
400  yards,  which  at  that  point  was  about  one-fourth 
of  a  mile  wide,  with  swift  current  broken  by  many 
large  rocks  and  one  or  two  wooded  islands. 

A  batteau  half  filled  with  water  was  tied  to  the 
bank,  and  with  a  paddle  I  commenced  baleing  out 
the  water.  While  thus  engaged  I  heard  a  shout,  evi- 
dently a  signal  from  the  Georgia  side,  and  I  could 
see  a  man  and  two  women  in  a  field  were  making 
signals.  I  started  across  the  river,  which  had  many 
dangerous  currents  among  the  rocks,  and  had  need 
for  all  my  expert  skill  with  a  paddle.  On  approach- 
ing the  Georgia  shore,  the  persons,  to  my  surprise, 
retired  from  the  bank  some  forty  yards  and  com- 
menced a  conversation  with  me,  anxiously  inquiring 
if  the  war  was  over,  who  I  was  etc.  I  told  them  the 
war  was  over,  that  I  had  surrendered  with  General 
Lee,  that  I  belonged  to  a  Mississippi  regiment,  my 
name  was  Thompson,  that  my  uncle,  who  lived  near 
Columbus  and  owned  a  plantation  near,  had  sent 


238      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

me  out  to  look  after  some  matters  and  I  had  come  to 
the  river  fishing,  and  hearing  their  signal  had 
brought  over  the  boat. 

They  were  very  suspicious,  but  finally  I  got  the 
man  tame  enough  to  come  near,  and  he  put  one  foot 
on  the  prow  of  the  boat  as  it  lay  on  the  shore  and 
talked  some  minutes  and  saw  that  everything  he  had 
on  from  head  to  foot  was  mine. 

A  girl  had  presented  me  with  a  cravat  embroider- 
ed at  the  ends  by  her  own  hands  and  the  rascal  had 
on  that.  He  had  been  to  a  dance  the  night  before  over 
in  Georgia,  and  had  been  dressing  himself  in  my 
best,  just  as  I  had  done  before  the  war.  He  told 
me  his  name  and  I  recognized  him  at  once,  as  I  had 
known  him  from  infancy,  but  he  did  not  appear  to 
recognize  me.  I  offered  to  carry  him  back  in  the 
boat,  saying  it  was  too  windy  to  catch  fish,  offered 
him  the  rear  paddle  and  after  much  talk  finally  got 
the  two  buxom  girls  to  take  their  places  in  the  boat. 
While  making  our  way  to  the  Alabama  shore  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  land  the  girls,  draw  my  pistol  and 
compel  the  man  to  drop  down  the  river  to  Smith's 
landing,  and  then  carry  him  prisoner  to  my  friends. 

But  my  plans  would  not  work.  When  within  an 
hundred  yards  of  the  shore  I  saw  on  the  bank  a  no- 
torious deserter,  whom  I  had  known  for  years,  with 
an  Enfield  rifle  in  his  hands.  As  soon  as  he  saw 
that  there  was  a  stranger  in  the  boat  he  stooped 
and  glided  into  the  thick  cane  and  brush  which  lined 
the  bank. 

Landing  I  gallantly  helped  the  girls,  still  unsus- 
picious, out  of  the  boat,  chatted  a  while,  begged  for 
an  obtained  an  invitation  to  the  next  dance,  to  be  at 
their  house  two  days  after — I  had  never  danced  a 
step  in  my  life — and  bidding  them  good  bye,  walked 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER      239 

off  whistling  "Dixie,"  no  doubt  passing  within  a 
few  feet  of  my  friend  with  the  rifle,  but  never  look- 
ing to  the  right  or  left.  Again  my  scouting  expe- 
rience served  me  well,  for  had  I  betrayed  knowledge 
of  his  presence,  I  would  have  been  sent  to  the  bottom 
of  the  river  and  this  tale  left  untold. 

I  kept  step  to  "Dixie"  till  I  got  to  the  woods,  and 
then  in  a  double-quick,  I  summoned  my  friends  to 
meet  me  the  next  morning.  Some  of  my  old  friends, 
some  crippled  soldiers  ,among  them  Lawson  McKel- 
vey,  met  me  with  boats  at  the  mouth  of  Soap  Creek. 
Four  of  us  went  to  the  island  found  evidence  of  a 
camp,  and  papers  from  my  trunk.  Forming  a  skirm- 
ish line  across  the  island  we  traversed  its  length, 
and  Lawson  found  the  bacon  in  an  underground  cel- 
lar cleverly  planked  up  and  covered  with  driftwood. 
The  deserters  had  taken  the  alarm  and  removed  the 
trunk  and  other  things  and  we  searched  the  Geor- 
gia shore  and  other  islands  without  further  results. 

While  searching  the  Alabama  shore  one  of  the 
party  heard  a  signal  opposite  the  island.  It  proved 
to  be  an  old  woman  who  lived  two  miles  off,  and  who 
had  in  hand  a  case  knife.  The  party  gathered  about 
her,  and  McKelvey  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  she 
had  come  after  some  of  the  bacon  and  was  signal- 
ing the  island,  not  knowing  that  we  were  after  the 
precious  deserters.  First  the  old  men  then  I,  tried 
argument,  persuasion,  entreaty,  threats,  everything 
but  force,  to  make  the  old  woman  divulge  the  where- 
abouts of  the  other  missing  property,  but  without 
avail.  She  had  come  to  the  river  to  get  some  medical 
roots  for  her  rheumatism,  and  protested  that  she 
had  no  knowledge  of  the  stolen  things,  calling  on 
her  Maker  to  witness  the  truth  of  her  assertions. 


240      TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

She  fairly  outdid  me  in  deceit,  when  I  passed  off  to 
her  son  as  Thompson. 

Finally,  when  patience  was  exhausted  McKelvey 
said  to  me :  "You  are  too  d — d  chickenhearted  about 
women.  Turn  over  the  command  to  me,  and  I'll  make 
the  old  hag  tell  the  truth." 

I  very  gladly  resigned  in  his  favor,  and  he  took  a 
rope,  brought  to  tie  prisoners  or  hang  them  as  may 
be,  commenced  to  make  a  hangman's  noose,  at  which 
he  seemed  to  be  skillful.  Everybody  was  silent,  but 
the  old  woman  begun  to  eye  his  movements  with  evi- 
dent curiosity.  After  the  knot  was  made  it  did  not 
seem  to  slip  according  to  his  ideas  and  he  sliced  off 
a  piece  of  the  bacon  and  greased  the  rope,  at  the 
same  time  slipping  it  up  and  down  on  his  elbow. 
The  old  woman  finally  broke  silence  with :  "Mr. 
Kelvey  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  that  anyhow?" 
Pointing  to  a  huge  willow  which  bent  over  the  deep 
currents  of  the  Chattahoochee,  he  replied:  "I  am 
going  to  hang  you  to  that  tree  till  you  are  dead,  and 
then  cut  the  rope  and  let  the  fishes  eat  your  car- 
cass." 

Again,  she  loudly  protested  her  innocence.  He 
threw  the  rope  over  a  limb  of  the  willow,  jerked  off 
her  bonnet  and  clapping  the  noose  over  her  head 
began  to  draw  her.  Of  course,  we  all  knew  McKel- 
vey would  not  hang  the  woman,  nor  would  we  have 
permitted  it, — but  it  looked  very  serious — especially 
to  her. 

After  a  little  he  loosed  the  rope  and  asked  her 
for  the  truth,  but  she  again  protested  her  innocence. 
This  was  repeated  twice,  the  last  time  the  rope  must 
have  grown  very  tight  for  when  it  was  relaxed  she 
confessed  everything,  told  who  got  the  articles,  that 


TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER     241 

they  had  been  on  the  island  but  had  been  moved,  she 
knew  not  where.     This  last  was  truth. 

Finally  she  agreed  if  we  would  not  hang  her  or 
prosecute  the  takers,  let  bygones  be  bygones,  she 
would  deliver  everything  at  a  neighbor's  house  two 
days  after,  which  was  done.  The  faithful  McKelvey 
went  with  me  and  when  we  returned  with  the  recap- 
tured spoils,  my  cousins,  who  were  rather  slender 
sat  on  the  floor  around  the  trunk  while  unpacking  it. 
When  their  fine  dresses  came  to  view  it  was  seen 
that  they  had  been  cut  in  the  back  and  a  gore  or 
V-shaped  piece  of  cloth  let  in  so  that  the  buxom 
belles  who  bewitched  the  deserters  might  wear  them; 
the  dresses  being  otherwise  too  small.  The  girls  had 
been  mad  up  to  this  time  and  their  remarks  had  been 
most  exemplary  in  Christian  patience.  But  now 
their  patience  gave  way  and  they  cried  and  cried 
again  over  their  wrecked  finery. 

My  friends  thought  my  life  would  not  be  safe  in 
that  neighborhood,  but  I  remained  there  the  rest  of 
the  year,  and  on  one  occasion  met  my  deserter 
friends  at  a  cider  pressing  and  saw  them  occasion- 
ally, but  I  can  not  say  we  were  very  cordial. 

After  awhile  came  provisional  government  and  a 
proclamation  of  amnesty  for  most  sins,  including  the 
taking  of  the  goods  and  the  pretense  of  the  hang- 
ing and  peace  rested  in  that  neighborhood. 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  deserters  and 
those  who  shared  their  spoils  long  since  became  good 
citizens  and  have  a  respectable  standing  in  the  com- 
munity as  well  as  in  the  church.  Most  of  the  ac- 
tors have  gone  "over  the  river,"  those  gallant,  warm- 
hearted friends  who  stood  by  me  even  when  in  a 
disagreeable  task,  but  Lawson  McKelvey  still  lives, 


242        TWO  BOYS  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  AFTER 

a  cheery,  warm-hearted  fellow,  as  of  old.  Maybe  the 
rough  edge  on  his  tongue  is  somewhat  smoothed,  but 
however  that  is — wherever  he  may  be — here's  a 
health  to  him,  and  these  remembrances  now  serve 
only  to  call  up  merriment.  We  are  prone  to  forgive 
the  faults  of  thirty-seven  years  ago. 


